


Haze

by Outfoxed



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Action, F/M, Love Triangles, Multi, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-26
Updated: 2015-10-16
Packaged: 2018-03-25 22:38:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 33,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3827557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Outfoxed/pseuds/Outfoxed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The past never rests - Promises were made, and promises would be kept. But what happens when you return to the world of the living, only to find that everything you thought you knew has changed?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Closure

_ _

 

_"What's past is prologue."_

-Antonio, 'The Tempest'

 

* * *

**Chapter 1  
** _**'Closure'** _

He found her standing by the side of the road, shivering in the pouring rain. Despite her troubled condition, she greeted him in her usual, cheerful manner, or tried to, at least. It wasn't quite as convincing now that she was drenched in freezing cold water, looking down and out.

"H-hey Spikes. Long time, no see.." she said, looking up, rubbing her arms together in a vain attempt to keep warm.

"Yuffie? What are you doing out here?" Cloud asked, puzzled. There weren't many sane people who would be caught wandering around in the middle of nowhere during a storm like this one. At least, not without good reason..

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Yuffie replied.

"I was on my way back to Midgar," Cloud said. "You?"

"Oh, just wandering around, you know.." Yuffie replied, avoiding his questioning gaze. "Thought I'd stretch my legs, what with this wonderful weather we're having."

"Is that so?" Cloud asked, crossing his arms. It was evident that the young ninja did not wish to impart the real reason for her being out here. He hazarded a guess that she had run away from home again, but whatever the cause for her ill-timed perambulations, it was less important than getting out of this weather, he decided.

"So, uh..." Yuffie said. "Quite a coincidence, us running into each other out here, huh?"

"Right," Cloud replied. "Coincidence."

The look on his face told her that he was not convinced at all. She let out a nervous chuckle. "I swear, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were stalking me or something.."

Cloud tilted his head slightly, indicating that it was time for her to give up the act and come clean.

She let out a ragged breath. "Okay... The truth is, I was coming down the hill. Saw you driving down the road. Thought I'd scoot over and say 'hi'."

A short pause.

"So... hi," Yuffie said.

Another pause.

"Well, I'll just be on my way now," she said, turning to leave. "Good seeing you again, Spikes. Take care."

Cloud sighed. He knew she was too proud and stubborn to ask first, even in her sorry state. He might as well make the first move.

"Don't be stupid, Yuffie," he said. "You'll catch your death of cold out here."

He patted the back of his motorcycle. Room enough for one passenger.

"Get on."

She turned away. The look on her face told him that she wanted to accept his offer, but something was holding her back from doing so.

"It's okay, really," Yuffie said, turning back to him. "I'll be fine."

Cloud shook his head, sighing again, then got off his bike. She was already a few paces ahead of him when he ran up to her and caught her by the arm. His grip was light, and she didn't resist it. When she turned around again, he began to notice the change that had come over his young friend. She looked glum, and more far more pale than usual. There was clearly something bothering her, but he decided not to press the matter. Not right away, at least.

"Come on," he said, the expression on his face softening as he tried to reason with her. "I'll take you home."

"I'm... not headed home," Yuffie said, still avoiding his gaze.

"Ran off again, huh?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah," Yuffie replied. "Kind of."

"Well, we can sort that out later," Cloud said. "Let's get out of this rain first, all right?"

Yuffie nodded, offering a weak smile as she looked up at him. "Great idea, Spikes," she said. "One of your best, in fact."

Cloud nodded as well, smiling back. "Okay, then," he said, guiding her back to his motorcycle. "Let's go."

Sitting down again, he revved up the engine. Yuffie got on behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist, and they took off down the road, heading towards the city on the distant horizon.

* * *

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we _nearly_ there yet?"

"Do you want to walk the rest of the way?"

"Um, no."

"We'll be there soon," Cloud said, glancing over his shoulder at his passenger. "Be patient."

He had to remind himself not to be churlish. He and Yuffie had barely exchanged a word since she had joined him. She had been quiet all night, and there was little in the way of her usual chatter, which had him worried. This wasn't just another one of her casual escapades, he realized. There seemed to be a shadow hanging over her, which was highly unusual for the perky young girl, who rarely let anything bring her down. She was talking again, which was at least a sign that she was feeling better.

She leaned in a little closer, pressing her body against his for what scant warmth they could share between them in the freezing rain that deluged the parched desert sands surrounding Midgar. The feeling was not unpleasant, and he found himself sneaking another glance at his passenger as she rested her head on his shoulder, no doubt exhausted from wandering out in the wilderness.

It was well past midnight when they pulled up to the old slum church at the outskirts of the city. "Come on," Cloud said. "We can take shelter here."

Yuffie looked up at the crumbling edifice. The aspect of the church was quite different in the pitch-black night. The place seemed almost foreboding, surrounded as it was by barren trees casting strange shadows, and water pouring down in thick rills from the mouths of the gargoyles perched atop the sides of its roof. The inside, similarly, was dusky and far less inviting than it was in the daylight. Still, it was preferable to staying outside. Setting aside her hesitation, she followed Cloud inside the building.

The inside of the church wasn't much warmer than the outside, but they were out of the rain, at least. Even though they were no longer being pelted by the storm, they could still hear the patter of raindrops beating against the windows. There was also the hole in the church's ceiling, which permitted wind and rain alike through, falling inside just out of reach of the evergreen flower patch in its centre.

Cloud set his equipment down, and started rifling through some old boxes in the corner of the building. His old supplies from the time he had been stricken with Geostigma and taken refuge in this place. "Here," he said, handing Yuffie a dry towel.

"Thanks," she replied, using the small towel to dry herself off.

"I think I've got some rations here," Cloud said, taking another look through his supplies. "Nothing fancy, but it beats sleeping on an empty stomach."

"Just like old times, huh?" Yuffie replied as he handed her a tin of canned meat. It wasn't gourmet food, that much was certain. But they were both used to such concessions from their days on the road. It almost inspired a twinge of nostalgia in her as they built a small fire and started cooking up the leftover rations.

The fire was barely enough to allow them to cook their food and steal the slightest bit of warmth from it. Cloud didn't want to risk building a larger one, he explained, in case it got out of control. There was also the concern of creating too much smoke, which would all but make their shelter uninhabitable. As it was, the tiny fire gave off only the faintest light in the gloom of the church, painting even deeper shadows into its corners.

They didn't speak much during their humble meal, both being too hungry to make any attempts at small talk. It was only when they were finished that they resumed their conversation.

"You didn't bring anything with you?" Cloud asked, noticing Yuffie's lack of equipment.

"Just the clothes on my back," Yuffie replied. "I kind of left in a hurry, if you couldn't tell."

"Right.." Cloud said. "So, what gives?"

Yuffie shrugged. "Like I said, I didn't have time to pack."

"I mean, why did you run off this time?" Cloud asked.

Yuffie looked away, sighing. It couldn't be avoided any longer. It was time for her to reveal the true reason for her being out here. She owed Cloud that much. "It's my dad.."

"So, what else is new?" Cloud replied.

"It's not like always," Yuffie said. "I mean, yeah, we fight all the time, and it usually ends with me storming off somewhere, but.."

"Not this time, I take it?" Cloud asked.

Yuffie bit her lip. "I don't know what's gotten into him. It's like he's getting paranoid in his old age, or something."

"What do you mean?" Cloud asked, puzzled.

"He keeps going on about.." Yuffie started, then trailed off.

"What?" Cloud prompted.

"It's nothing," Yuffie said, shaking her head slowly, gazing into the small fire. "It's ridiculous.."

Cloud looked at the young ninja, waiting for her to continue.

"He's getting worse, somehow, ranting and raving and.."

She paused, letting out another ragged sigh. "We had a fight. Much worse than usual. It... didn't end well."

"A fight?" Cloud asked.

Yuffie nodded. "It started with words, and then.."

"What happened?"

Yuffie looked away again, her expression all but impossible to read.

"He hurt you?" Cloud asked.

Arguing with Godo Kisaragi could be hazardous to one's health. He knew that from experience. But for him and his daughter to part in such an acrimonious manner was unheard of. Yuffie's father had always struck Cloud as a stern man, but not violent or capricious. But if his mental state was truly unraveling, then..

It was only then that he noticed the bandages, the lowest part of them just barely visible underneath her purple tank top.

"Let me see that," he said, moving up closer to her.

"It's nothing," Yuffie said, turning away from him.

"It's not nothing," Cloud said, growing more insistent. "Let me see."

Without further argument, she lifted up the lowest part of her tank top, just enough to expose the full length of the bandages. The bandages, he saw, covered up a gash, a fairly serious one, at that. The centre of the bandages was stained dark red, and there was a trickle of blood seeping out from underneath them.

"It's opening up again," Cloud said, examining the wound. "Hold on. I think I have something to patch that up with."

He departed for a moment, digging up a few more items from his supplies, then brought them back over to the fire. "Keep still," he said as he redressed the bandages. Yuffie shuddered, grimacing as he applied disinfectant to the wound, removing the old bandages and replacing them with new ones. She looked away the whole time, her face turning red as she did, perhaps out of embarrassment. He knew she hated to reveal anything that could be construed as weakness, regardless of the circumstances. That wasn't what was on his mind, however. He was concerned only with her well-being.

The work only took a couple of minutes. He'd had plenty of experience with mending wounds, as did the rest of Avalanche. They were all by now well acquainted with dealing with injuries of all levels of severity, and with good reason.

"Thanks," Yuffie said, pulling her tank top back down over the bandages.

"Don't mention it," Cloud replied, setting his medical supplies aside. "Are you going to be okay?"

"You don't have to baby me," Yuffie said. "I'll be fine."

"What will you do now?" Cloud asked, sitting down next to her again.

Yuffie shrugged. "Don't know. It looks like I'm not going back home for a while."

"For how long?" Cloud asked.

"Like, ever," Yuffie said.

"It's that serious?" Cloud asked.

She nodded, but said nothing further. He wondered what it was that had prompted her departure from her homeland this time. Though she had afforded him something of an explanation, it was still a rather vague one. Her reasons for leaving Wutai were rarely anything more serious than the usual bickering with her father and his array of ministers over things like propriety and tradition. They argued, she left, came back home, they argued some more, scrapped, then made up. It was almost routine by now. This time was different, though. That much was obvious. Whether she was still angry with her father, or pitied him, he couldn't tell. Probably both. In any case, it was clear that returning to Wutai was not an option for her.

"Okay, then," Cloud said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Like I said, we'll figure things out. Just need to weather this storm, first."

"So... why are we here, anyway?" Yuffie asked, looking about the abandoned church. "Why don't we just go to the Seventh Heaven?"

"There is no Seventh Heaven," Cloud replied. "Not anymore."

"Why?" Yuffie asked. "What happened?"

"Closed down," Cloud replied. "Tifa sold the place and moved to Kalm a few weeks back."

"The kids?" Yuffie asked.

"Marlene's back with Barret," Cloud said. "As for Denzel, he was taken in by his aunt and uncle. I know she didn't like living in Midgar by herself, and with me being on the road all the time, I guess she just didn't see much reason to stay. So she left."

"I'm sorry," Yuffie said.

"Don't be," Cloud said. "I brought this on myself. Wasn't really thinking. I should have known better."

"Well, it's easy to be wise after the fact," Yuffie said.

"True," Cloud replied.

"So, where have you been staying?" Yuffie asked.

"Here and there," Cloud said. "Tents. Motels. Doing odd jobs. Just been on the road a lot, lately."

"So... you don't have anywhere to go, either, huh?" Yuffie asked. "No home?"

"Not really," Cloud said.

They sat together in silence for a while. Lightning crackled again, illuminating the gloom of the old church for a split-second, the ghostly light followed by the rumble of distant thunder. Given the somber scene, he was surprised when she started laughing, out of the blue.

Cloud, failing to see anything particularly amusing about their situation, gave Yuffie an odd look. "What's so funny?"

"'It was a dark and stormy night..'" Yuffie intoned, with the appropriate level of gravitas.

Cloud rolled his eyes. "..Shut up."

Yuffie grinned. "Come on, Spikes," she said, giving his shoulder a playful shove. "Lighten up."

"Do I have to?" Cloud replied.

"No," Yuffie replied, still grinning. "You can be your old, grumpy self if you like."

Despite his attempt to keep his composure, he couldn't help but smile as well. She was right. It was almost funny, in a way. Rank, royalty, stature. Whatever they had once been, it all seemed irrelevant now. Right now, they were simply two strays caught in the tempest. He wondered how they had ended up here. You saved the world, or at least had a hand in its continued survival, you expected some kind of compensation. Remission, at least. But there had been no big, happy ending. No sense of closure. In the end, they had all simply drifted apart, dispersing as gradually as the group had first coalesced.

"But really, isn't that how all these stories start?" Yuffie said.

"What kind of story are we talking about?" Cloud asked, growing amused by the unexpected tangent that their conversation was going on.

"Well, I think we've already seen the horror story," Yuffie said. "I mean, Jenova, and all that.."

"Don't remind me," Cloud said. The less time spent dwelling on that eldritch horror, he thought, the better. Jenova had done its damnedest to ensure that none of them would see tomorrow, and that was when it wasn't trying to poison one's mind and make one do things not of one's own volition. He put such thoughts out of his mind, focusing on the present again.

"Not much action as of late, either," he pointed out.

"No, I guess not," Yuffie said. "At least, not since Deepground. So... slapstick comedy?"

"That'd be a welcome change of pace," Cloud said.

"No doubt," Yuffie replied, giggling.

They talked on for a while about nothing in particular, certainly nothing serious, as they passed the time together, waiting out the storm. He had forgotten what good company she could be when she wasn't up to her usual mischief, and it had been some time since he had enjoyed anyone's company in this manner. Aside from the occasional reunion or run-ins with enemies like Kadaj's gang or the Deepground organization, the various members of Avalanche hadn't met much since the group's dispersal after the Meteor crisis.

"So... where are the others hanging around these days, anyway?" Yuffie asked. "Have you heard anything from them?"

"Not much," Cloud said. "Reeve's still operating GRO, from what I hear. As for Vincent, I have no idea where he is. Last time I saw him, he said something about 'unfinished business'."

"Sounds like Vincent," Yuffie said.

"And Cid's back in Rocket Town," Cloud continued. "Amassing an airfleet, I think."

"There's a surprise."

"That's about it," Cloud said, shrugging. "Can't say I've really kept in touch. How about you? Heard anything?"

"Barret moved back west," Yuffie said. "I almost ran into him while I was... uh, _borrowing_ some supplies on my way here."

"Right," Cloud said.

"As for Red, I think he said something about expanding his observatory in Cosmo Canyon," Yuffie said. "I guess that about covers it."

Cloud nodded. "Sounds like everyone's moved on."

"Except you," Yuffie said.

"Yeah, well... that's the problem with not having any plans for the future," Cloud said.

"You weren't planning on getting yourself killed, were you?" Yuffie asked, concerned.

"No," Cloud said. "I just wasn't betting on us making it through it all in one piece, you know?"

Yuffie nodded. She understood what he meant. It was still hard to believe some of the things they had lived through and witnessed these past three years.

Another roll of thunder caused both of them to glance upwards. "Doesn't look like it's going to let up any time soon," Cloud said.

"Yeah," Yuffie replied. "I guess we're stuck here."

"You should get some rest," Cloud said. Getting up, he dug through his supplies once more, bringing with him a small cot and a bedroll. "Here," he said, handing them over to her.

"Where's yours?" Yuffie asked.

"I've only got the one," Cloud said.

"But.." Yuffie started, looking up at him.

"It's yours," Cloud said, cutting off any further protest. "I'll sleep over there," he added, gesturing towards one of the wooden benches at the far end of the room.

With reluctance, she accepted the cot, laying it out next to the flower bed, before turning in, drawing the thin blanket over herself to ward off the cold. After a few moments, the cot began to grow warm, and she was able to more easily relax. Despite the relative comfort that the bedding afforded her, however, she found it difficult to fall asleep. She sat up, looking over at where Cloud lay on the hard bench, not far from her.

"Cloud?" she asked, unable to tell whether he was asleep or not.

"Yeah?" came the husky reply.

There was a slight pause. She had meant to say something to him, but now that she had spoken up, she wasn't sure what it was she wanted to say. In the end, she settled upon the two words she deemed most appropriate.

"Good night."

"'night," Cloud replied, turning over.

She lay back down as well, watching the hypnotic effect of the flowers swaying in the wind mere inches from her face. Tired as she was, she expected to drift right off to sleep. But sleep would not come to either of them that night.

* * *

  


Yuffie looked down the forest path, scattered leaves gilded by the early morning light filtering through the deciduous trees surrounding it on either side. A faint but pleasant scent of pine and birchwood was carried on the warm breeze, and the only sign of life throughout the whole glade was the distant birdsong in the air above her. She could scarcely conceive of a more tranquil and idyllic scene, and yet she could not help a sense of foreboding, one that was completely at odds with her peaceful surroundings.

She felt disembodied, unable to move or turn. All she could do was stare down the straight path, all the way to its terminus, made almost perfectly opaque by its sheer brightness. It was not long before she could see someone coming down the path towards her. Even from afar, there was no mistaking her departed friend. The braided, chestnut hair, pink dress and red jacket which seemed so idiosyncratic to the Last Cetra as she had known her throughout their short time together left her in little doubt as to her visitor's identity.

She watched as her old friend made her way down the road, walking towards her with an airy step and a bright smile on her face. Before she could reach her, however, a voice, no louder than a whisper, yet piercing enough to fill the air, spoke to her.

_"When it's all over.."_

She woke up with a start, heart pounding in her chest as the veil of her dream was withdrawn, breathing a sigh of relief as she took in her surroundings. The old church, where she and Cloud had taken refuge from the storm. Nothing had changed, as far as she could tell. The icy rain was still coming down in torrents, though the thunder and lightning seemed to be growing more distant. She had no idea how long she had slept, or what time it was. All she could tell for certain was that it was still pitch-black outside, and the storm still showed no sign of abating.

She lay back down on her cot, staring up at the marble ceiling. Her dream, however brief it had been, had left her in a cold sweat, and with a vague feeling of unease. The feeling soon subsided, but she was left puzzling over her own reaction to seeing her lost friend return to the world of the living. The feeling had been one of dread, rather than joy, which struck her as odd, to say the least. Along with Tifa, Aerith had been one of her closest companions, and had shown her nothing but kindness and understanding, even when she had put her comrades' patience to the test, especially during her short-sighted betrayal of the group. Being that was the case, why should she have any reason to feel enmity for her departed friend?

And yet, the strange thing was that she hadn't wanted her to come back. That was her dominant feeling during the dream. Apprehension. As though her friend's return heralded some calamity, both collective and personal. As though she were there to snatch something away from her. Something cherished. Try as she might, she couldn't think of why on earth that would be the case, but the unwelcome impression remained, as much as she tried to dismiss it.

_"It's not like I'll be seeing her again. And even if I did, why would I_ not _want her back? What the hell is wrong with me?"_

Perhaps, she thought, it was merely her surroundings playing tricks on her mind. A part of her felt as though she were trespassing on hallowed ground. Maybe that was it.

She turned on her side again, drawing the covers over her head, doing her best to put these thoughts out of her mind, but further sleep eluded her.

* * *

  


With a sigh, Yuffie sat up once more. _"So much for sleep.."_ she thought.

She looked over at Cloud, who was lying still on one of the benches at the far side of the room. Though she could not tell for certain, he seemed to be struggling with sleep, as well.

He still wore the mourning band, she noticed, the one they had all put on after the threat of Meteor had passed. They had done so without consulting with one another; it was simply something they had taken up, as a token of respect for the last Cetra, though he had kept his hidden underneath a long sleeve, with the intention of keeping his Geostigma affliction a secret. Now that he'd torn it away, it was curious to see that after the supposed closure offered up by their fight with Kadaj, he still kept it on. Perhaps, she thought, he simply wasn't ready to let go.

Without thinking, her hand went up to her own mourning band. It had simply never occurred to her to take it off. She couldn't help but revisit her dream, wondering what it meant, if anything at all. She still missed her friend dearly. The world around them neither knew nor cared about their struggle, or her sacrifice. It simply went on in its usual way. But it was nice to know that someone else remembered.

Getting up, she walked over to the far side of the room, the soft blades of grass tickling her bare feet as she crossed over to where Cloud lay sleeping. He had his back turned to her, so she couldn't tell whether or not he was asleep.

"Cloud... are you awake?"

"What's wrong?" Cloud asked, turning over on his side.

"I just... I can't sleep," Yuffie said, rubbing her arm. "Sorry if I woke you."

"You didn't."

"You were awake?" Yuffie asked.

"To tell you the truth, I wasn't sure," Cloud said. "I had kind of a strange dream."

Yuffie looked at him for a moment, puzzled, wondering if his dream might have any connection with hers. _"Probably just coincidence,"_ she decided. _"Sleeping in this place must be playing tricks on our minds, that's all.."_

She took his hand, pulling him up and away from the bench. "Come on," she said.

"Yuffie, what are you-" he began.

"You can't sleep there, and I can't sleep at all," Yuffie said, leading him back across the room, the dew hanging off the flowers wetting their feet as they walked across the flower bed together.

Cloud gave her a surprised look, wondering what she was up to. But in the three years that they had known each other, he had learned to trust her, and so decided to let her take the lead for the time being.

* * *

  


She led him back to the other side of the room, halting in front of the small cot laid out in the centre of the flower patch. Having brought the two of them over, she turned back to Cloud, doing her best to avoid the questioning look in his eyes. In truth, she wasn't sure herself what it was that she had been planning. She had simply been acting on impulse, doing the first thing that came to mind. Still, she decided, since she had started, she might as well go all the way, uncertain though she was of the result. She didn't want to sleep alone for fear of what dreams the night might bring and, seeing that Cloud was struggling with sleep as well, she'd made up her mind that the best thing for them to do was to try to get some rest together.

She motioned him towards the cot, gesturing for him to lie down. He looked up at her, pointing out the obvious. "There isn't enough room.."

"We'll _make_ room," she insisted.

Cloud paused. He looked as though he was about to protest, but then he thought the better of it. He knew better than to argue with Yuffie once her mind was set. He lay down on the outer edge of the cot, turning sideways in order to leave half the space for her. Once he was settled in, she lay down as well, facing away from him, drawing the thin blanket over the two of them. He placed his right arm across her waist and she shifted in closer as they curled up together to ward off the cold of the night.

Sleeping together like this wasn't new to them, per se. They had been comrades-in-arms for a long time, after all, and there had been times during their arduous journey across the world where, weak and weary after several days' trek through some sweltering jungle or sprawling woodland, they had found themselves dozing off next to one another, usually winding up with Yuffie resting her head on Cloud's shoulder. Even so, this kind of intimacy was new to them. Now that they were all by themselves, it seemed different, somehow. It was better than sleeping separately, she thought, and yet, she found that neither of them could relax. They were both tensing up, though whether it was out of shyness or merely respectful restraint, she couldn't tell. To know each other this well for over three years, and still be uncomfortable in each other's presence seemed odd to her.

Again, she acted on instinct. She had gone this far, she thought. There was only one more step to take, and she decided that it was time to take the risk.

Turning over on her side, she rose up, pushing Cloud down as she straddled him by the waist. He looked up at her, perplexed. "What are-"

Yuffie hushed him, touching a finger to his lips before he could get any further. "Just relax, okay?" she said, the look in her own eyes assuaging his confusion, asking for his trust. She leaned in closer, pressing her lips against his, softly at first, then more firmly as she lay down atop him. Cloud's eyes widened, and he was more than a little taken aback by her sudden amorousness, but he did not resist, and she was relieved to find him receptive to her advances. He reciprocated the gesture, enfolding her in his arms as he returned the kiss.

She let out a sigh of pleasure as they parted, raising herself up slightly in order to gauge Cloud's reaction, worried that he might take exception to her impulsiveness. But he smiled at her, reaching out to caress her cheek. It was clear that he felt more at ease now, which in turn helped her to calm down, as well. Though she'd never had the courage to admit it, this was something that she had wanted to do for a long time. But neither time nor opportunity had presented themselves, until now.

Now that they were more comfortable in each other's presence, she saw a different look in his eyes. He wanted more, and so did she.

She leaned down again, and they shared a second kiss. He drew her closer, and she let him take control, yielding as he raised himself to a sitting position. He pulled her tank top up over her head as she unzipped his sweater, breaking off for a moment before resuming their foreplay, continuing to peel each other's clothes off as their lovemaking grew more intense.

Before long, they were under the covers, naked, lost in each other's embrace, blissfully unaware of the tumult outside. The storm still raged, the night was growing colder, and the rain showed no sign of stopping. But for a few, precious moments, they forgot time and place. Forgot themselves. They both knew, and so it remained an unspoken truth between them. They were seeking something more than just momentary relief or carnal pleasure. Catharsis. A release. Something denied to them for so long. And they had found it at last.

It was sudden, unexpected. But it wasn't like they were strangers. They had been close friends for years, and shared a great deal of pain and joy together. Why should it seem so strange, then, that an attraction should exist between them? Perhaps the only real surprise was that of belated realization. Not that it mattered much. Whatever it was, it was the furthest thing from their minds right now. Right now, there was only the moment, and the two of them.

As their strains of passion came to a close, they curled up together again, drifting off to a dreamless sleep.

* * *

The next morning, they woke up to find that all was still. The storm had passed, and the world seemed brighter and more vivid than they recalled. Yuffie turned on her side, looking at Cloud as he lay next to her. There was something different about his demeanour. He looked content. Happy, even. She felt the same. He took her hand and smiled at her, without saying anything. She squeezed his hand, smiling back, and they stayed that way for a while, holding on to the moment for a little longer, careful not to not to spoil it with words.

For the first time, they were both perfectly at ease next to one another. Peaceful. Content. Both feeling as though a great weight had been lifted from their shoulders. It wasn't the closure that they had been seeking, not by any means. But perhaps it was the beginning of something..

* * *

They gathered their things and left the church, emerging into the radiant dawn that awaited them outside. Yuffie rubbed the last of the sleep from her eyes, yawning and stretching, letting out a sigh of contentment and drinking in the fresh morning air left by the night's rainfall.

"So..." she said, looking over at Cloud, "what do you want to do today?"

"What do you say we go get some breakfast, see where things go from there?" Cloud suggested.

Yuffie smiled. "That sounds perfect."

She took his hand, and they walked down the dusty road together. The world seemed new, offering them the possibility of a fresh start. A new beginning. They had emerged from the crucible at last, free, no longer burdened by the past. Or so they thought.

But the past never rests.

 


	2. Reminiscence

_"To live in hearts we leave behind_  
_is not to die."_  
-Thomas Campbell, 'Hallowed Ground'

 

_"Things are revealed through the memories we have of them. Remembering a thing means seeing it, only then, for the first time."  
_ -Cesare Pavese

 

**Chapter 2  
** **_'Reminiscence'_ **

 

* * *

It was funny, in a way. Ever since they first met, they'd done little besides get on each other's nerves. To say that they didn't get along was an understatement. Simply put, they couldn't stand each other. Not one bit. He thought she was too noisy and bratty, and she found him too serious and aloof, all business and no pleasure. (She would later say the same of Vincent, who was, by and large, of the same temperament, only more so, if that was even possible). Whatever the cause, Avalanche's taciturn leader seemed hell-bent on hunting down his nemesis, to the exclusion of all else, including any notion of making friends.

When the young ninja had first started to tag along with the remnants of Avalanche, her shenanigans hadn't done much to ingratiate her with the rest of the group, either. The constant tomfoolery, japes, practical jokes, squabbling with the other members of the group over the most trivial of matters, not to mention her habit of 'borrowing' things without permission, did little to warm any of her newfound companions to her presence. Ultimately, however, she found them to be an inchoate collection of misfits, meaning that, for once in her life, she fit right in.

Among the eccentrics and insurgents she now found herself travelling with, the ex-soldier at the head of the group drew her curiosity most of all. Despite her initial denial of any personal interest, what little she had gathered regarding his troubled past intrigued her, and his quiet, reserved nature made her determined to get a rise out of him, if only to pierce his stoic exterior. He, in turn, found a solution to her antics, one which irritated her to no end: He ignored them. This, of course, only served to make her more determined to steal his attention. And so it went on, as they travelled across the world together. Over time, his reaction to her often childish behaviour softened, turning from irritation to amusement. Likewise, her wisecracks and hijinks went from being mean-spirited to merely mischievous. She had, by this time, grown too fond of her companions to wish to alienate any of them through bad behaviour.

At least, that was how it seemed, until she betrayed the group's trust. Upon reaching the shores of her homeland, she had scarpered off with their hard-won supplies, leaving them at the mercy of the various monstrosities and abominations roaming the land. And so they had become enemies, briefly. Circumstances eventually brought them back together and allowed them to reconcile their differences, but not before Avalanche had hounded the young sneak-thief across half of Wutai's capital.

In addition to the unwelcome diversion from their journey brought on by her treachery, the group's sojourn in the Far West also brought them into contact with her father and his aides, the experience of which went a long way towards offering an insight into the antagonistic nature with which she often dealt with the world around her. When the dust had settled, and her profuse apologies and heartfelt promises not to do it ever again had ameliorated the group's anger towards her, they had resumed their journey.

In particular, she and Avalanche's leader had, by this time, grown accustomed, even attached, to each other's idiosyncrasies and flaws, strengths and weaknesses. They had done everything under the sun and moon to get on each other's nerves, travelled very nearly the length of the whole world together, argued, laughed, had each other's back and strung each other out, only to set out again the next day with renewed vigour. In short, they had been through just about every trial and tribulation imaginable together, first as strangers, then comrades-in-arms, antagonists and even enemies, to finally emerge as firm friends. And now they were something more.

Cloud Strife and Yuffie Kisaragi, as mismatched a pair as there ever could be. And yet, they were able to reconcile their differences and find in each other solace and happiness. He wondered when it was that they had gone from being unable to stand each other to being nearly inseparable. There had never been a moment where they decided to settle their differences. No official attempt to bury the hatchet and start over again. No confirmation of any sort. The change was so gradual as to be imperceptible. And yet, here they were.

He recalled one incident in particular, where he had finally realized just how much their relationship had changed and evolved since those early days in the forests surrounding Junon, where they had first bumped into each other, quite literally. It was the first time they had had an actual conversation. Back then, although still in pursuit of the black-caped man, and trying to safeguard the world from certain annihilation, their conversation had turned not to the present or the future, but to the past..

* * *

**The Highwind - Three years prior**

_"It's always the last place you decide to look,"_ Cloud thought as he stepped out onto the Highwind's observation deck. Yuffie stood at the aft section of the airship, watching the distant countryside as it drifted by. The young ninja had her back turned to him, and was unaware of his approach, mesmerized as she was by the sight of sunrays cascading across the infinite blue ocean beneath them.

It was a perfect summer day. The only thing to vitiate the idyllic vista was the meteor that loomed in the sky above them, darkening the farthest reaches of the heavens. The calamitous asteroid, though still distant, drew closer with each passing day, its approach heralding a death-knell for the planet and all its inhabitants. Yet the two of them remained undismayed. The sight of the world below, illuminated by the radiant dawn on the horizon, was enough to make one forget, for the briefest of moments, that anything was amiss at all.

The Avalanchers had felled the last of the Weapons, the ancient guardians of the planet long since rendered into mindless husks by centuries or millennia of inactivity, and were now on their way to their final destination: the Northern Crater. Once there, they would descend into the scar left upon the face of the earth by Jenova's arrival, down to the very heart of the planet, to stifle the birth of a mad god. Uncertain though they were of victory in their final confrontation, they were, all as one, determined to see it through to the end.

Cloud walked over to where Yuffie stood, leaning over the railings, looking out into the distance. "Hey," he greeted her.

"Oh... hey, Spikes," she replied, looking up as she finally noticed him. "Come to enjoy the view?"

"Tifa sent me to find you," Cloud explained. "Said you were looking pretty green. You feeling okay?"

"Yeah, no worries," Yuffie said. "I skipped breakfast, so it's not like there's anything for me to chuck up."

"...Right," Cloud replied. "That's... good."

"How is she doing, by the way?" Yuffie asked.

"Still down with a fever," Cloud said, leaning against the railings next to her. "Can't say that I'm surprised, the way she's been going at it. She never gives herself a break. I figure she deserves some rest before... well, you know."

"Yeah.." Yuffie replied, trailing off.

After the incident at the lost city of the Ancients, the two girls had grown closer. In the wake of their friend's departure from this world, Tifa insisted on looking out for the young ninja, like an older sister, almost. The incident in question had reminded all of them of just how much was at stake, and fixed the idea firmly in their minds of how suddenly and without warning any of them might be snatched away. Bitter though the loss had been, it had served to unite the disparate members of the group, and made them more determined to see to it that their enemy's plans should not come to fruition.

Seeing how things had changed between the two of them, Cloud couldn't help but reflect upon his own relationship with Tifa. Even though it turned out that their early childhood friendship was more fiction than fact, she had proven herself to be a loyal friend time and again, especially back in Mideel, where she had stayed behind to nurse him back to health. He wasn't sure if he could ever repay her for her kindness. But he would try.

"So, how about you?" Yuffie asked, interrupting his train of thought. She leaned back against the railings as she turned to face him. "I guess airships don't faze you, huh?"

"I guess not," Cloud replied. "Submarines might be a different story, though."

Yuffie grinned. "Yeah, you weren't looking so hot that day."

"Look who's talking," Cloud said. "You were practically rolling around on the floor."

The two of them laughed as they recalled that day, submerged underneath the ocean. It was strange, Cloud thought. As his memories of his true identity gradually returned, so did the nausea that came with his motion sickness, a condition that he'd somehow 'forgotten' about during the time when his overworked psyche had begun to meld his memories of the Nibelheim incident with those of his closest friend, Zack. At least travelling on the road didn't affect him too much. That he could be grateful for, given the distances that Avalanche routinely had to cover.

Their laughter subsided into a brief, but comfortable, silence. They were, by now, accustomed to one another's presence and, now that their journey was coming to a close, the two of them found themselves spending more and more time together. That was the first thing he noticed that had changed about their relationship. They'd been having actual conversations as of late, as opposed to the shouting matches and furious bouts of pretending to ignore each other that had characterized their early days on the road together. They'd had a few casual chats here and there during what little downtime the group was able to afford itself, but today seemed like it would be the first time that they might have a conversation of any real length or substance.

There was something else he'd noticed as of late, another subtle change. His companion's tomboyish demeanour belied a surprisingly feminine figure, one that was becoming difficult not to notice, especially when she was in repose, leaning back over the railings as she was right now, facing him, regarding him with a faint smile. Not her usual one, which was more often than not indicative of some intended mischief, but one of genuine warmth and affection. There was little doubt left in his mind that she would grow up to become a great beauty some day. Indeed, he was seeing signs of that change, even now, gradual though it was.

Not wanting to be caught staring, he looked away briefly. "Didn't expect to find you up here."

Yuffie shrugged. "Yeah, well... I needed a change of scenery. It's too noisy down there in the engine room. I can't hear myself think."

"Got something on your mind?" Cloud asked.

"No, not really," Yuffie said. "Just needed an excuse to get out of there for a while, y'know?"

"Hmmm..." Cloud replied, looking out into the distance.

Yuffie gave a slight shiver. "Is it just me, or is it getting colder?" she asked, rubbing her arms for warmth. "Where are we, anyway?"

"Just a few miles past Rocket Town, I think," Cloud said. "We'll be over the arctic ocean soon, so you might want to be inside by then. Or at least put on something a little warmer."

"Right. Good point," Yuffie said, turning back to the vista before them.

Neither of them said anything else for a moment. Then, as he was about to turn away and head back inside, the young ninja said something he didn't expect to hear from her.

"She would have loved this view."

She didn't speak her name. There was little need to do so. They both knew who she meant.

Cloud nodded, but didn't turn to face her, instead keeping his gaze fixed on the distant horizon. "Yeah... she would have."

Yuffie turned to look at Cloud. Try as she might, she couldn't read the expression on his face. His features remained blank, unchanged, but his eyes were a different story. She recognized it as the look of someone recalling unpleasant events unbidden. Though she couldn't be sure, it was likely that her remark had evoked in his mind the promise he had made to their fallen friend. The one he'd been unable to keep.

She half-expected that he might walk away, as he was wont to do whenever her name came up in conversation, but instead he replied with an equally unexpected question. "You ever lose anyone close to you?" he asked, turning to her, after a long moment of silence.

"My mom," Yuffie replied. She turned away, leaning over the railings again, wincing ever so slightly as unpleasant memories flooded her own mind.

"What happened?" Cloud asked. He could already guess as to the erstwhile Lady Kisaragi's fate, but he was curious to hear the story from her daughter, nonetheless. It occurred to him just how little they still knew about each other, even though they must have been travelling companions for months now. In a way, the young ninja kept her secrets as closely guarded as he did his own, only she kept hers hidden behind a smile, as opposed to a mask of indifference, as he did.

"She died during the final raid on the capital," Yuffie said. "By then, our soldiers were already waving the white flags. The battle was just about over, and she was making her way back to the temple where the children were hiding. That's when a stray bullet caught her in the chest."

Cloud watched the young ninja, noticing the subtle change in her demeanour as she recollected the past. There was a distant look in her eyes as she recalled the day in question, which she related to him in a dull, flat tone of voice that was a far cry from her usual, melodic and playful intonation.

"It was strange, though," she continued. "It was like she didn't even notice. She just kept on walking, while the blood spilled over her dress. It wasn't until she was halfway through the field that she finally stopped. Her hands were matted red by that time, and she was turning pale. She looked up at me and smiled. Staggered forward a few more steps. Then she collapsed in the snow."

The young ninja shrugged, as if to indicate the end of her story. "That was it."

"I'm sorry," Cloud said.

"Yeah.." Yuffie gave a slight nod, turning her gaze down towards the ocean.

Listening to her story, he couldn't help but reflect upon his own dreams of being a war hero. They seemed so childish now that he had seen the conflict between Wutai and Shinra for what it was. He'd never considered the people on the opposite side of the war as anything but a nameless, faceless 'other' to be routed, vanquished. Never considered the consequences. It had taken him long enough to learn the true nature of his employer, and the experience had left him, for the most part, disillusioned and cynical. A just reward, perhaps, for looking up to false idols.

"Why'd they invade, anyway?" Cloud asked. He knew that East and West had long been at war, impelled by Shinra's political machinations, but he had never quite grasped the reasons why. Even now, years later, the real purpose of the war eluded him, as did the true nature of its outcome. The conflict didn't seem to have ended, so much as faded into obscurity, as though Shinra's leaders had simply lost all interest in their newly-conquered territory as soon as it had fallen into their grasp. Strange behaviour, to say the least, for a corporate empire which had sought to further its control over everything in sight, by any means necessary.

Yuffie shrugged again. "What else? They wanted our Mako fields. Killed their way across half the country to get'em."

Cloud looked at her, puzzled. As far as he knew, there had never been any Mako reactors built in Wutai.

"They accused us of not wanting to share our resources with the rest of the world," Yuffie continued. "Even before the war got started, we told them that we didn't have any."

"Needless to say, they didn't believe you," Cloud finished for her.

"They thought we were holding out on them," Yuffie replied.

"And that's why they invaded?"

Yuffie grimaced, then looked away again. "That's one reason."

"So, why'd they keep fighting?" Cloud asked. "They must have known you were telling the truth once they got past your borders."

"By the time they reached the capital, they'd realized we didn't have any Mako for them to steal," Yuffie replied, shaking her head. "Didn't matter. By that time, they were so wrapped up in their little war games that they razed what was left of the country, anyway. Guess it would have looked bad, otherwise. Indecisive, you know?"

She shrugged yet again. "All this fighting and dying over nothing. It's funny, huh?"

She sank down to the ground, letting her legs hang between the railings, wrapping her arms around the cold steel bars. Though she did her best to avoid his gaze, he could see that she was close to tears.

"Yeah... just goddamn hilarious," she added, her voice close to a whisper now.

Cloud looked the young girl over again, more closely this time. A strange pallor had replaced her usual, sunny disposition. It wasn't like her to brood over days gone by. As far as he knew, she had never brought up any aspect of her own past before. It was only now that everything was coming to a close that she seemed ready to open up, and, in doing so, revealed to him someone he hadn't expected to find at all.

"Yuffie..."

"But hey, enough about that," she said, looking up at him again, forcing herself to smile, as though to banish the grief that had, for a moment, threatened to overwhelm her. "What's your sob story?"

He couldn't help but smile back, in spite of the sombre course that their conversation had taken. He was relieved to see the young girl bounce back so quickly, although a little taken aback, at the same time, by the rapidity with which she'd recovered. In any case, it was good to see her return to her usual, chipper self. If Yuffie Kisaragi was truly becoming downcast, it was a sign that things were getting even worse than he'd feared. She'd let her guard down for a moment. But only for a moment.

"Story, huh?" he replied, shrugging, leaning back over the railings. "I'm pretty sure you've heard the whole thing by now. Not much point in bringing it up again."

The young ninja wasn't about to let him dismiss the subject so easily, however. What little she'd learned about Cloud's past before now had piqued her interest, and she knew that now was likely her last chance to press him further, before the opportunity slipped away.

"Did you lose someone?" she asked, sidling a little closer to him as she got up again. "Before all this, I mean."

"I lost my mother, too," Cloud said. "But that was after the war."

"Yeah, you mentioned something about that," Yuffie replied. "So... what about your dad?"

Cloud shrugged. "I never knew my father. Mom said he died during the war. I was too young to remember much about him."

"What happened to him?" Yuffie asked.

"They say he died or disappeared somewhere in Wutai during the early days of the attack," Cloud explained. "I asked my mom about it sometimes, but that was all she ever told me. She didn't talk about it much, so sometimes I got the feeling that there was more to it than that, but.."

Yuffie tilted her head, gazing up at Cloud, a puzzled look on her face. "What makes you say that?"

Cloud shrugged. "Just a hunch, I guess. Not that it really matters anymore. It's ancient history now."

"I guess," Yuffie replied. "So, your mom.."

"Died in the fire," Cloud said, quickly cutting her off. "Like I told you."

"What happened, exactly?" Yuffie asked. "I didn't catch the whole story."

Cloud sighed. If there was something he didn't like, it was someone prying into his past, especially that incident of five years ago. Still, the young ninja seemed earnest in her curiosity, so he decided to humour her. "What do you want to know?"

"How did it all start?" Yuffie asked. "You arrived in town. Then what?"

"We investigated the reactor up in the mountains," Cloud said. "Its output levels were showing strange peaks and troughs, like it was malfunctioning. It was only when we got inside that we found out that Hojo had been experimenting on the local wildlife... and humans."

"..Why?" Yuffie asked.

Cloud shrugged. "Who knows? Shinra had a bunch of different projects aimed at creating some kind of 'super-soldier'. They were after anything that would give them an edge on the battlefield. But Hojo was doing this on his own. His experiments weren't part of any weapons development program."

"So, what did you do about it?"

"Zack and I thought we should take this back to headquarters immediately," Cloud said. "But Sephiroth insisted that we remain in town a little longer. Said we needed to gather more evidence before we returned to Midgar. To tell you the truth, I think he was concerned that Hojo wasn't acting on his own."

"You mean.."

"That he thought someone else was involved," Cloud said. "Someone higher up. In any case, we agreed to stay in Nibelheim for a while longer."

"Then what happened?" Yuffie asked.

"Sephiroth locked himself up in the basement of the old Shinra mansion. He was gone for days at a time. He'd never been particularly friendly with anyone, but when he started to hole up down there, he grew more insular, obsessive... and unstable."

"And then.."

"Then, one day, he decided that it would be a good idea to burn everyone around him to death," Cloud finished.

Yuffie took all of this in with quiet contemplation, which was the last thing he'd expected. "But why'd he go off the reservation in the first place?" she asked, after a brief silence.

"It's hard to tell," Cloud said. "He was acting strange even before we arrived in town, as though he were anticipating something, but it wasn't until he locked himself up inside that library that he changed."

"Why?" Yuffie asked. "What did he find down there?"

"The truth," Cloud said. "Or so he thought."

"So, he just snapped? He just went from normal to axe-crazy because of something he read?" Yuffie asked.

Cloud slowly shook his head. "There was something broken in him from the start, I think. But whatever it was that he found down there, it pushed him over the edge. And that's when the town went up in flames."

"There were no survivors?" Yuffie asked. "He killed everyone?"

Cloud nodded. "My mother and Tifa's father. All those other people, too. Not that I ever knew them that well. Hell... to tell you the truth, I didn't even _like_ most of the people there."

"Really?" Yuffie asked, surprised.

"But when the town burned..." Cloud paused, shaking his head again. "I figure nobody ever really deserves that."

Yuffie looked away again, towards the horizon once more, mulling over her friend's words. It was little wonder that he was slow to trust others, she thought.

"It's strange," Cloud said, breaking the silence between them.

"What is?" Yuffie asked, turning back to him.

"After everything he's done, everything he's taken away from us... I should hate him, but I don't."

Again, the expression on his face remained inscrutable, a blank mask. Try as she might, Yuffie found that she couldn't read her companion, despite having considerable experience when it came to gauging peoples' moods. Still, she had gathered enough to understand him better, she felt.

He stared out at the vast ocean. The atmosphere was growing colder, and the hour of truth was drawing near. He had sometimes wondered what he would feel once the time came, but now that everything was coming to a head, he could scarcely feel anything at all. Anger, fear, hatred... none of these things occurred to him now.

The gradual realization that his arch-enemy was more symptom than cause had dulled his hatred for his former childhood idol. The irony was not lost on him that the would-be puppet-master had turned out to be just another marionette suspended by someone else's strings. For all his wanton malevolence, Sephiroth's trail of destruction had been the mere fallout of his father's hubris. Even Jenova, that eldritch horror from beyond the stars, seemed to bend to his father's will. He could not help but wonder whether it was Jenova that had manipulated Hojo, or if it was the other way around. Or perhaps they had both used one another, in some twisted, parasitic relationship.

Indeed, Hojo, it seemed, had been the root cause of all this and, judging by his final actions, was well aware of the role he had played in this tragedy. The rogue scientist had even sabotaged his and Vincent's chance at revenge by taking his own life, leaving only the detritus of his malefaction in his wake.

Ultimately, as fearsome as his nemesis had seemed, and as large as he had loomed in the mind, he was now merely another tool in the hands of an unearthly abomination, an alien entity of unknown and unfathomable purposes, recast in his captive mind as a surrogate mother figure. Did he even know? Did he have an inkling as to how Jenova and his father had toyed with him? Surely not. His mind must be too far gone by now to recognize the truth, Cloud thought.

And so his animosity towards his tormentor had amalgamated into something which was neither hatred nor pity, but rather a kind of numbness. A slow, weary realization that he must put his enemy down, not as an act of vengeance so much as a way of restoring balance to the world. The knowledge that, whatever else occurred, he would play no part in shaping its future course.

"Don't tell me you feel sorry for him," Yuffie said, interrupting his thoughts.

Cloud shook his head slowly. "Not at all. The sad part is... he's not to blame for any of this. But he has to be stopped."

"For her?" Yuffie asked.

Cloud nodded, looking out at the horizon. "For her. For everyone."

Yuffie waited another moment, before springing her next question, one that had been on her mind for some time. "What about... after?"

"To tell you the truth, I never thought there was going to be an 'after'," Cloud said. "I guess I'll figure that out when the day comes," he added, before turning to the young ninja again. "How about you?"

"Go back home and continue being a disappointment to my dad, I guess," Yuffie replied.

"You sure about that?" Cloud asked.

Yuffie nodded. "He's not all bad. Wutai would have collapsed a long time ago if he hadn't been around. He's just so old-fashioned and pig-headed, you know? I figure someone's gotta keep the old fogey in line. Of course, knowing my dad, he'll probably start yapping about 'propriety' and 'tradition' and whatnot."

"And knowing you, you'll probably continue to ignore him," Cloud said, giving a brief smile as he turned to face the young girl. "Right?"

Yuffie smiled back at him. "Right."

"Well, I've got to get back below deck," Cloud said, pushing himself away from the railings. "We'll be at the Northern Crater in a couple of hours. If you've got any last minute preparations, you might want to get them squared away soon."

"'kay," Yuffie replied, returning her attention to the mountain range in the distance. "Hey, Cloud?" she added, just before he reached the entrance.

"Yeah?" Cloud replied, pausing in the doorway.

"Thanks for talking," Yuffie said. "It was nice... just to talk, you know?"

Again, that rare smile surfaced on his features. "We should do it again sometime," he said. "Don't fall over, all right?"

"No worries," Yuffie replied, grinning. "Catch you later, Spikes."

 


	3. The Reunion

_"Every parting gives a foretaste of death, every reunion a hint of the resurrection."  
_ -Arthur Schopenhauer, 'Counsels and Maxims'

  


**Chapter 3  
** **_'The Reunion'_ **

* * *

_It was her. It had to be. There was no mistaking the flower girl's silhouette, even at that distance. Yuffie watched with a growing sense of dread as her late friend walked over to where she stood, transfixed, at the far end of the woods. She had experienced this dream a number of times before, to the point where she was losing count of how often she had found herself in this illusory setting. Yet, no matter how often it came to her, she could not steel herself for the inevitable shock that it brought, or the lingering disquiet with which it left her._

_Each time the vision grew more palpable, and each time her surroundings changed in small, subtle ways. The woods, once vibrant, grew steadily darker with each instance, the bending sycamores on either side of her turning an ashen colour, their branches twisting and their leaves blackening, drifting to the ground below. No longer was she greeted by the bright mid-day sun, as she had been during the early appearances of the dream, and, except for the blinding light streaming down the forest path, now found herself wholly enveloped in the cold gloom of midnight._

_Her fallen friend's demeanour, too, had changed. The departed Cetra exuded an aura of menace, a feeling that she had never associated with her before. She moved through the woods, one measured step after another, slipping through the murky haze, in which everything moved a little too slowly, as though time itself were coming to a crawl. As she did, it seemed like everything around her was dying and decaying, the trees and foliage withering and turning to ash as she passed them by, as though tainting them with her presence._

_Yuffie tried to turn away again, but to no avail, the distorted sense of time serving only to increase her dread, prolonging her discomfort, as she waited for the nightmare to reach its awful crescendo._

_Despite coming down the lighted path, the angle from which her deceased friend approached her made it impossible to discern any details of her being. Only her silhouette could be seen with any semblance of clarity, even as she drew closer. Her face, in particular, remained hidden in shadows, and any time it seemed like it might be catching a sliver of light, again it fell into obscurity before she could make out any details of it. All she could see for certain in the stifling darkness was the unwavering, piercing gaze of blood-red eyes. This was not the woman whom she had known, and been friends with. And yet, it was._

_Her deceased friend continued her inexorable march towards her, and she knew that she would see her face clearly, just before the dream ended. And this was, she realized, the one thing that she most wanted to avoid seeing knowing that the sight, unobscured by the dark, would sicken and horrify her._

_Each time the dream occurred, she came a little closer to seeing what was still hidden to her, and each time, she tried to force herself to awaken before it happened. But, struggle as she might, she still could not move or turn away. Even though she knew she was asleep, she could not escape the world of her dreams. All she could do was watch as the figure, clad in shadows, stalked down the forest path towards her._

_She made one final effort to bring her dream to a premature close, but it was too late. Just at the moment before the dead flower girl's face was brought into view, once and for all, there came a voice, no more than a whisper, yet at the same time, resounding throughout the forest, chittering and echoing from a thousand different places all around her._

_"...when it's all over."_

* * *

Yuffie woke up with a start, her breath caught in her throat. She sat up in bed, the disorientation brought on by a fitful sleep fading from her mind as she stirred.

Casting a quick glance about her surroundings, she was relieved to be met with the mundane familiarity of her motel room; soft rain beating against the window and the low, repetitive whoosh of the ceiling fan slowly turning somewhere above her. She remained still, watching the rain trickle down the glass as she did her best to forget what she had just seen.

Cloud, sleeping next to her, stirred as well. "Dreams again?" he asked, sitting up next to her, a concerned look on his face.

"Mmm.." Yuffie gave a weak nod in reply, but didn't say anything. Her heart was still pounding in her chest, and her head was throbbing from sheer lack of sleep. He inched a little closer to her, and she leaned back, letting him pull her in, relaxing in his embrace as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Though the dream had passed, its last vestiges dissipating into the early morning light, the occurrence of it always left her with a knot in her stomach, and a sense of foreboding which she could neither fully articulate, nor rid herself of, no matter how hard she tried.

Her misgivings were twofold. First of all, why would her dear friend, someone who had never once spoken an ill word against her, even when she was on her worst behaviour, be haunting her in her dreams? And secondly, why did she react so negatively at the sight of her return? Would that not be a good thing? She knew that her friends would give anything to have her back, and the same went for her. Though she did her best to bear the loss, she too was affected by it, more so than she was willing to admit.

Cloud regarded her with concern. That was another thing that troubled her. Though she had told him that she'd had trouble sleeping lately, owing to bad dreams, she hadn't mentioned the exact nature of those dreams, perhaps for fear of upsetting him. Even though three years had passed, Aerith's death remained a sensitive subject for him. She was still not quite able to gauge his frame of mind, and with their relationship still so new and tentative, she didn't want to risk pushing him away over something that, on the face of it, was only in her head.

And that was yet another thing that tormented her; her guilt over not telling him the whole truth. She knew that he was genuinely concerned, and that he wanted only the best for her. It was possible that he assumed that her difficulties with sleeping had something to do with her running away from home. She didn't like withholding the truth from him, and figured that, if the dreams didn't go away, she would have to tell him, sooner or later. For now, though, she didn't want to lose what they had together, and so she kept it to herself. All she could do was shake it off and hope it would soon pass.

What was stranger still about the dreams was that the vision, vivid as it was, was not hers, originally. Cloud had related the story to her, at some point or another, of the dream he'd had just after Aerith had left the group to go to the lost city of the Ancients by herself. In particular, her last words:

_"I'll come back when it's all over. I promise."_

It was hard to tell what the meaning of those words was, given that her claim had not come to pass, despite the certainty with which she had uttered it. It might have just been optimism on her part, or perhaps her way of allaying her friends' fears. Had she lied? Or had she merely not known what might happen? Aerith was no fool, and she must have known that her chances of coming back alive at all were slim, at best. Not that it mattered much anymore, she thought. Cetra or no, the dead remained dead.

_..Didn't they?_

"You okay?" Cloud asked, stirring Yuffie from her thoughts and worries.

She murmured a reply in the affirmative, without taking her eyes off the window opposite them. He drew her down a little closer, and she gave a pleasant sigh as he massaged her shoulders, helping her to relax and put her at ease.

She was grateful for his kindness, and glad that they had encountered one another when they did. The timing seemed almost too fortuitous, looking back on it now. Although she was loath to admit it, she had been at the end of her rope, and left without anyone to turn to, much like the first time they had met.

It hadn't taken her long to realize that what feelings she had held for Avalanche's former leader were stronger than ever before. When their original journey had ended, and it came time to part ways, she had dismissed these impulses as a mere crush. A childish, girlish infatuation, and something she was glad to be rid of.

During their brief reunion two years later, it didn't take long for those feelings to resurface, and she realized that she had been wrong. This time around, she tried to dismiss them by ways of rational practicality. They were good friends, and nothing more, and there was no reason to expect that this would ever change. So she told herself. He had his new life in Edge, and she had her own training and duties to attend to back home. She was supposed to remain in Wutai and help restore her country to some semblance of its former glory, while he was meant to build a new life with his childhood friend. That was the plan, unspoken though it was. But somehow, things had changed. 'Man plans. Fate laughs,' her father had sometimes said to her. She couldn't help but reflect upon those simple words now with a wry kind of amusement, now that she and Cloud were together. The two unlikeliest members of the group, completely different from each other in every way, and yet a perfect fit in spite of this... or perhaps because of it.

Putting these thoughts aside, she looked out the window again. There was little that could be seen through the gloaming of the early dawn, which obscured everything except the road that lay ahead of them. "What time is it?" she asked.

Cloud glanced over at the digital clock on the nightstand. "Three," he replied.

"Hmmm.."

"You want to roll?" he asked.

Yuffie nodded. "Yeah... I think it's time."

For the past three weeks, they had been on the road together, travelling to nowhere in particular. Their aimless drifting was born not so much out of wanderlust so much as the need to simply keep moving. The world was at peace now, and was gradually resuming its normal pace, one that neither of them could quite acclimatize to. The placidity of peacetime induced almost a kind of vertigo in them, so the answer, it seemed, was to just keep moving, despite not knowing where to. They no longer carried the weight of the world on their shoulders, so they had plenty of time to figure the rest out, as neither of them had any real commitments to speak of. The nomadic lifestyle they'd adopted suited them both just fine. There was no need to make any grand plans for the future just yet. Just being together was enough.

Even so, they both sensed that it was time to move on. Before long, they would set out, heading down the road to another town, another inn. No home. No roots. In a way, it was not altogether too different from the life they had known before, when they had first met, as though they had completed their trials, only for everything to come full circle.

"You should try to get some rest, first," Cloud said. "You haven't gotten much sleep lately."

"..I guess," Yuffie replied. Despite feeling tired and listless, she wasn't sure if she would be able to sleep any more that night. Although she knew that her dream was certain to occur only once a night, she was still reluctant to relinquish her hold on consciousness, now that she was lucid again.

She grimaced slightly as Cloud's calloused fingers traced the skin underneath her camisole. The gash had not yet fully healed, and was still sore, even after weeks of healing. "Sorry," he said, withdrawing his hand.

"It's okay," Yuffie replied, turning to face him.

"Think you can sleep?" he asked.

"Well... I guess we could stay for another hour.." she replied, leaning in closer, cupping his face with her hands as she brushed a kiss against his lips.

They drew apart again after a moment, and she couldn't help but let out a small giggle, feeling his warm breath against the nape of her neck. The sensation tickled, albeit in a pleasant way. She shifted her position, urging him to take charge as they grew more and more aroused by each other's touch.

"...or two," she added, smiling, as he leaned in for a second kiss.

* * *

Some time later in the day, they set out again, taking off down the road at high speed. They'd made no real fanfare about leaving. They simply packed, paid and left. One of the benefits of being out on the road and travelling as a pair, as opposed to a group of nine, was not being tied down to any one place. They could arrive and depart anywhere they wanted at any time they pleased, their whims and desires the only things that dictated their journey.

A few hours went by before they reached their next stop. Parking their ride at a deserted rest-stop, they took a nearby mountain path, partly to scout out the lay of the land, and partly because they because they damn well wanted to. All their differences in experience and upbringing aside, one thing Cloud and Yuffie did share a common passion for was exploration, as well as an affinity for high places.

Having reached a plateau overlooking the valley that lay ahead, they decided to rest for a moment and cook breakfast right there on the spot. Cloud sat by the makeshift fire next to the blankets that they'd laid out on a soft patch of grass, one of the few amid the hard rocks that composed the greater part of the mountainside. Yuffie, meanwhile, stood at the edge of the cliff, bending and stretching as she wrapped up the last of her morning exercises.

Although not undergoing any kind of official training regime anymore, she insisted on keeping up her routine of morning callisthenics. Despite her reputation for being lazy when it came to making any kind of preparations, the young ninja held fast to certain habits, and that included a dogged determination to keep fit, something which Cloud couldn't help but admire. No doubt his own fighting skills had begun to atrophy, given that he'd had no need to employ them since the Deepground incident. In the time that had elapsed since he had last joined forces with the rest of Avalanche, he had neglected all forms of training for the simple reason that, in the post-war society that was slowly emerging from the ashes of the old world order, it was unlikely that his skills would be tested again any time soon, for better or worse.

Yuffie turned back to the campfire where Cloud was sitting, letting out a happy sigh, tiptoeing and raising her arms above her head as she stretched to her full height. Though he did his best not to stare, Cloud couldn't resist taking in her beauty and grace. He made sure to turn away before she had a chance to notice, however, preferring not to be caught looking. She'd occasionally give him a knowing wink and a smile when she caught him in the act, as if to tell him that she didn't really mind.

Although she had undeniably always been cute, her appearance had begun to take a more defined shape as of late, slowly blossoming into what her nascent features had only hinted at three years ago, as she passed from teen age to young womanhood. She was still more tomboy than classical beauty, but it seemed like it was only a matter of time now before the transition from the former to the latter would be complete. He had been right about that much.

"Feeling better?" he asked as she approached the campfire.

She gave an energetic nod in reply, and smiled at him. "Much."

"Glad to hear it," he replied, relieved to see her in high spirits once more. He hated to see her downcast, and there was plenty of reason for her to be, in wake of being forced to leave her home, possibly for good. He still hadn't asked her about the exact reason for her departure. He only knew that it had to do with the argument she'd had with her father, a far more serious one than their usual, petty squabbles. Add to that the nightmares that had begun to plague her recently, and it seemed almost miraculous that she remained as cheerful as she was.

"Hungry as hell, though," she added as she walked over.

"Breakfast's just about ready," Cloud replied, indicating the percolator hanging over the fire. "Watch your step," he added as she came close to losing her footing while passing over a particularly treacherous bed of rocks.

She dismissed his warning with a wave of the hand. "You worry too much."

No sooner had she spoken the words, however, than she slipped on a loose rock, causing her to trip over her own feet, and, failing to regain her balance in time, she came tumbling down to the ground, knocking Cloud over as well as she collapsed on top of him.

"..For a good reason," he retorted. He couldn't help but give a slight chuckle at her mishap, and did his utmost not to look too smug. It was odd, he thought, how someone could be so graceful and lithe one minute, and yet so awkward and clumsy the next. Yuffie, he knew, could be the most dexterous person alive when she put her mind to it. If her attention strayed, however, as it often did, all that carefully cultivated skill went right out the window. He was long past the point of being annoyed or puzzled by this quirk of hers. By now, he simply found it amusing, even endearing.

"Ow.." Yuffie rubbed the back of her head as the two of them sat back up. "What's so funny?" she asked, growing red-faced at Cloud's amusement.

"Nothing," Cloud replied, doing his best to keep a straight face. Judging by Yuffie's reaction, he wasn't succeeding. She huffed, blowing air into her cheeks, pretending to be angry with him, while he did his best to mollify her. She couldn't keep a straight face, either, and it wasn't long before they were both laughing at the whole thing.

"All right," Yuffie said, turning to the remains of their breakfast set, "let's see if we can't rescue some of this stuff, at least.."

"Not so fast," Cloud said. Without warning, he sprang up and caught her by the waist, wrestling her back down to the ground before she could get away. He wasn't sure what strange impulse it was that came over him all of a sudden. Being with Yuffie brought out a more playful side of him, one that was getting increasingly hard to suppress. Simply put, her mischievous spirit was infectious.

And he knew her weak point.

The White Rose of Wutai, it turned out, was extremely ticklish, and given that her usual choice of attire left her midriff completely exposed, it was a weakness which he knew he could easily prey upon without mercy. With that in mind, he dug his fingers into her sides, eliciting exactly the response that he'd hoped for. "Cut it out!" she yelped, kicking and twisting from side to side as she struggled to break free, laughing all the while. "Let me go!"

"Not until you say the magic word."

" _Now!_ "

"Nope," Cloud grinned. "Try again."

A brief struggle ensued, during which Yuffie not only managed to wrestle her way out of Cloud's grip, but somehow wind up on top, as well. She straddled his waist, pinning him down to the ground by his wrists. "Bet you're sorry now," she said, a devilish grin plastered on her face, now that the tables had been turned.

"A little," Cloud replied, playing along.

"You should be," Yuffie informed him, doing her best to sound serious and authoritative.

"Why?" Cloud asked. "You planning to punish me?"

"I just might."

"How so?"

She tilted her head slightly, before leaning down closer to his face. "I can think of a few things.."

She pressed her lips softly against his, and they both relaxed in each other's arms, their bodies melding together in the warm mid-day sunshine and the cool mountain air.

As they broke off from their kiss, she raised herself up again, gazing deep into his eyes. There was something in the way in which she looked at him, something honest and vulnerable, when all the veneer of pretension and mischief had been stripped away, leaving only the deep affection that they felt for one another. There was a soft look in her eyes, indicative of joy, desire and adoration, all of which were no doubt reflected in his own.

He couldn't say for sure what it was that bound them together. Was it love? Maybe. All he knew was that this was as close to true, unreserved happiness that either of them had ever come.

She bent down again, her lips nearly brushing against his, when they were interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing. She looked back to Cloud, offering an apologetic smile and settling for a quick peck on the cheek before pushing herself up off the ground and fishing her phone out of her backpack.

"Hello?"

"Hi, it's Sierra."

"Shera?" Yuffie asked, confused.

" _Sierra,_ " the voice on the other end of the line repeated.

"Oh, hi, Sierra," Yuffie replied, growing slightly flustered. "Sorry. Didn't catch the name."

Even though they had met a few times before, the young ninja had never had a chance to get properly acquainted with Cid's better half. It was slightly embarrassing to admit, but she had never even picked up on her name. They hadn't met on more than a few occasions, and had never had much time to get to know one another. Even so, the soft-spoken engineer had made a good impression on her during their brief time together.

She heard a familiar laughter on the other end of the line. "No problem, dear," Sierra replied. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, sure has," Yuffie replied, rubbing a gloved hand against the back of her neck, wandering out over to the edge of the mountain range again, taking the opportunity to drink in the stunning vista as she spoke on the phone. "So... what's up?"

"I just wanted to let you know that Tifa's planning a reunion in Kalm in a few days, if you're interested in coming."

"Sure, sounds fun," Yuffie said, glancing over at Cloud, who was occupied with putting out the campfire. It had been a long time since they'd met any of their comrades-in-arms from Avalanche, and a nice, informal get-together could be just what they needed. Lately, it seemed like they'd all been drifting apart.

"Who else is coming?" she asked.

"Everyone except Cloud," Sierra replied. "We haven't been able to reach him at all."

"Oh, he's right here," Yuffie replied, beckoning Cloud over to where she stood. "You want to talk to him?"

There was a slight pause from Sierra, as though this revelation of hers had come as a surprise. "Um... yes. Put him on, would you?"

"It's Sierra," Yuffie said, handing the phone over to Cloud.

"Hello?" he said as he accepted the phone.

"Cloud, is that you?"

"Hey, Sierra. It's been a while."

"It sure has," Sierra replied. There was another short pause, before she continued. "You're with Yuffie, then?" she asked.

Cloud had to stifle a laugh. Sierra was still saying Yuffie's name the wrong way, pronouncing it to rhyme with 'huffy', something which he knew annoyed the young ninja to no end. He'd asked her once why the error persisted, long after she'd taken great pains to explain to everyone how it was _properly_ pronounced. There was something of a story behind it, she'd told him.

Among the numerous lessons she'd had to undertake as part of her royal upbringing was foreign languages. She'd started to learn, albeit grudgingly. Before the war, there had been no standardized way to write Wutaian names in other languages, so that was as much terra incognita for her tutors as it was for the White Rose herself. Upon her first attempt at rendering her name using non-Wutaian letters, one of her instructors had informed her that she'd gotten it wrong, and that it should be written with only one 'f'. She, in turn, informed her instructor that she was incapable of making mistakes, and that he should mind his own business. Thereafter, she proceeded to spell it erroneously, in spite of all attempts to correct her mistake, and her teachers' growing frustration in this matter only served to amuse her. It was only when she left her home years later that she realized the joke was on her. It wasn't something she was proud to admit, but she'd brought it on herself, and was thus left having to explain it over and over again, much to her chagrin.

In any case, he didn't bother to correct Sierra's mistake this time around. He figured that Yuffie could do that in person later on, if she felt the need. At any rate, he thought, it might be amusing to watch her reaction.

"Yeah, we've been on the road together," he explained.

"I see," Sierra replied. "Well.. I-"

She paused at some interruption on her end of the line, her voice becoming muffled as she turned to speak to someone on her end, so Cloud could only just make out what she was saying.

_"It's Cloud and Yuffie. Yes, we finally got a hold of them."_

A second or two passed before she spoke again. "Oh, hold on a minute. Cid wants a word," she said.

There was the tell-tale sound of a cell phone changing hands, before he heard another familiar voice. "Hey, kiddo. How ya doin'?"

"Fine," Cloud replied. "And you?"

"Great. Just great," the captain replied. He sounded upbeat enough, Cloud thought. The former Shinra test pilot had always spoken of his grand plans of building an airline empire of some kind after Meteorfall. His ventures in that regard must have panned out, he figured.

"I guess Sierra already told you, but Tifa's planning this shindig in Kalm next week. You're comin', right?"

"Where are we meeting up?" Cloud asked.

"Place called the 'Crossroads Inn', right at the edge of town. Can't miss it."

"Okay," Cloud said. "We'll see you there."

"Great! See you then."

With that, the captain hung up, forgetting to hand the phone back to Sierra for the customary good-byes.

"Here, catch," Cloud said, turning to Yuffie and tossing her phone back to her.

"You know, Sierra says they couldn't reach you at all," Yuffie said. "You keep your phone turned off or something?"

"Oh, that.." Cloud replied. "The truth is, I lost it a little while back. Didn't bother to replace it."

She shook her head and sighed. "Geez, Cloud. That's pretty damn anti-social, even for you."

He simply shrugged. It was awkward to admit, and he didn't bother to make any further comments on the whole thing. "Shall we?" he asked, trailing back down the mountain path.

"Yes, we shall," Yuffie replied, following him. She took off with a running start before jumping up behind Cloud, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his waist. "Giddeyup, Spikey."

"..You're lucky you're cute," Cloud replied, shooting her a sideways glance. It was far from the first time she'd hitched a ride with him in this manner, and he doubted it would be the last. She was also about the only person in the world who he would allow to get away with it.

"Less talking, more walking, buster," she replied, grinning and pumping her fist in the air. "Let's go!"

* * *

They rode on through the barren fields east of the ruins of Old Midgar, bound for the sleepy hamlet of Kalm. Yuffie rested her head on Cloud's shoulder, arms still wound tightly about his waist. He cast another sideways glance at her, noticing that she was close to dozing off, before reminding himself to stay focused on the road ahead.

He still wasn't sure if it was such a good idea for him to participate in the upcoming reunion. But he didn't want Yuffie to miss out on this opportunity to meet with their friends. And he knew they couldn't keep on wandering the world by themselves forever. It was inevitable that they would run into their comrades-in-arms from Avalanche again. But what would they find when they got there?

His reservation stemmed partly from his having put so much distance between himself and everyone else for so long, but mainly from the way things had ended between between him and Tifa. A wave of guilt washed over him as he thought back to the day he'd returned to the Seventh Heaven, only to find that it was closing down, never to open again. There had been no final argument. No ultimatums. Just solitude and silence.

* * *

He'd returned from a longer trip than usual, not because the delivery itself had taken so long, but because he had taken his time getting back home, driving down longer routes than was necessary in order to stay on the road for as long as he could. Being back home still induced a strange, stifling kind of restlessness in him, something which he found could only be remedied by being on the move constantly. It was only when he could feel the cold wind brushing against his skin and watch the world rushing by that he was able to forget everything, if only for a moment.

Coming in through the service entrance, he was puzzled to find the bar still closed and devoid of people. Every inch of the place had been cleaned, more thoroughly than usual. Everything was put away, and the chairs were neatly stacked on top of their respective tables, much as they always were at closing time. The only movement that could be detected inside the bar was that of the motes of dust drifting through the few, thin beams of sunlight that managed to pierce the grey drapes drawn across the windows. 'Sorry, we're closed!' the sign outside the entrance proclaimed.

He was about to call Tifa's name, when he noticed a letter on the counter. He picked it up and read.

_'Dear Cloud,_

_I'm leaving Midgar. Headed where, I can't say. I don't know, yet, myself. But I need some time on my own._

_I know you still haven't made your peace. I thought I could help, but the truth is, I got so tired and frustrated waiting for something to happen. Sometimes, I was tempted to just yell at you to snap out of it. To stop moping around. To get over what happened, and that it was time to move on. But we both know it doesn't work like that. It's not something you can force._

_It's been three years, now. Even after the incident here in Edge, when it seemed like you were getting better, you started to withdraw from the world once more. I realized that maybe I was wrong. That no matter what happened, you might not ever be whole again. I don't know. All I can do is wait._

_I've transferred ownership of the Seventh Heaven to a local buyer. He'll be over in a few days, but you're welcome to stay in the room upstairs until then._

_Whatever it is you're looking for out there, I hope you find it some day._

_Until our paths cross again._

_Your friend,  
-Tifa Lockheart'_

He took one last look around the empty house as he placed the letter back on the counter. He hadn't stayed. There was no reason for him to do so.

* * *

He focused his attention on the road once more, knowing that it couldn't be much further. He was still ambivalent about meeting Tifa again. How would she react upon seeing him? And what would he say to her, in turn?

As the last of the sun's rays vanished behind them, he could see the village up ahead, much larger than the last time he had been there. Kalm had nearly tripled in size since the evacuation of Midgar in the wake of Meteorfall three years ago. Even so, it remained the same quiet and idyllic retreat that he remembered.

"Are we there?" Yuffie asked as she stirred from her sleep.

"Soon," he replied.

"'kay," she whispered, laying her head on his shoulder again and closing her eyes.

* * *

It was nightfall when they finally arrived in Kalm. They came to a halt just outside the inn, a large, cozy-looking edifice of hand-crafted stone and woodwork. "Crossroads", the sign above the entrance read. In smaller writing below it: "Bed and breakfast. Fair rates. See owner for details."

"Go on ahead," Cloud said to Yuffie as she got off the bike. "I'll catch up."

He took off, searching for a place to park, leaving her to head inside by herself. She pushed the door open and walked into the brightly-lit entrance hall where most, if not all, of her old Avalanche buddies stood gathered in a circle next to the reception desk. They all seemed to be in high spirits, talking and laughing as they caught up on each others' affairs and reminisced.

"Well, look who's here," Barret said. He and the rest of the group turned their attention to the young ninja as she strode into their midst. "If it ain't the White Rose herself."

Yuffie grinned, striking a confident pose as she joined up with her friends. "The one and only."

"Yuffie?" a familiar voice was heard, as someone came down the stairs behind them.

"Tifa!" Yuffie called. Rushing over to meet her friend, she flung herself against the older woman, squeezing her hard.

Tifa gave a slight chuckle in surprise as she stumbled backwards, having had no time to brace herself for the young ninja's attack. "Hey, Yuffs. It's been too long," she said, ruffling her friend's hair. Had it been anyone else, she might have raised an objection to being 'treated like a child', but she knew that Tifa meant well. All in all, despite not being bonded by blood, the two of them looked the very picture of two sisters being reunited after a long period of separation.

"It's great to see you, too," Yuffie replied, finally releasing the martial artist from her grip. She turned her attention to the rest of the group, taking a quick look around to see who else was there. Cid, Sierra, Denzel and Shelke were still missing, she noticed. The adults would turn up in due time, she figured, but the absence of the children struck her as rather strange.

"Where are the kids?" she asked.

"Denzel's with his aunt and uncle back in Edge," Reeve explained. "As for Shelke, she said she might be by later. So right now, it's just the old gang."

"So I see," Yuffie replied.

"You're looking sprightly as ever," Nanaki said. "A little, uh, 'travelled', though."

"'There's a divinity doth hedge a queen, rough-hew her how we may'," Vincent remarked.

"I think you mean 'empress'," Tifa replied, crossing her arms.

Yuffie dismissed their palaver with a wave of the hand. "'Empress', 'queen'... they're just titles. Besides, it's going to be a long time before my old man kicks the bucket. He's a stubborn old goat."

She omitted their most recent falling out. It wasn't important to bring that up right now, she figured. It could wait until the pleasantries were over, at least. "But I want to be there for Wutai," she added.

"Ha, I bet you just can't stand the idea of someone else sitting on that throne," Reeve said.

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Why do people have the impression that that's all royalty does? Just sit on their keisters all day on some boring throne?"

"You gonna be one of those 'hands-on monarchs', huh?" Tifa asked.

Yuffie flashed her another grin and nodded. "Yup. That's the plan."

Tifa shook her head. "Why am I not surprised?"

"I'll tell you what," Yuffie said. "You make me some of that awesome 'Seventh Heaven pie' of yours, I'll let you run the country on the weekends."

"Deal," Tifa smiled back at her, and they shook hands in a kind of mock agreement, while the others looked on and laughed.

Her mirth subsided, however, upon catching a glimpse of her childhood friend out of the corner of her eye. She took half a step back as she turned to the entrance to see the long-absent leader of Avalanche come in out of the cold.

"...Cloud."

"Hi, Tifa," he said, approaching her and the rest of the group. He stopped near the entrance, standing apart from the others, looking decidedly uncomfortable and out of place among former friends and allies, the years of separation turning him from the group's leader to the odd man out. The look on his childhood friend's face was difficult to read, and so his own reaction was guarded, apprehensive. He didn't know what to say to her after all this time. After he drove her away with his negligence and hesitation, she had every right to dismiss him, to cast him out. He wouldn't blame her.

A wistful smile flitted across her features for a second, before she crossed the room, exhaling hard as she pulled him into a tight embrace. "It's good to see you again."

His initial wariness faded away as he slowly returned the hug. "You too."

She pulled away again, placing a hand on his arm. "How have you been?" she asked, looking him in the eye.

"I'm doing okay," Cloud replied, finding it hard to meet her gaze, kind and gentle though it was. He still wasn't sure how things were between them. Not mended by any means, he thought, but he was grateful for her acceptance. She could have kicked him out, and he knew she had every right to, but she didn't. She was giving him a second chance, after everything that had gone down between them, good and bad.

"Well, I'll be damned," Cid's voice came as he and Sierra stepped in through the door. "If it ain't the White Rose and the Wolf. How you kids been?" he asked, grinning from ear to ear.

"Great, just great," Yuffie replied as she and the others gathered around the late-comers. Their arrival dissolved the remaining tension that had been building in the room as they joined the others and they all began to mingle and chat once again.

"Took you long enough," Yuffie said as she came up next to Cloud. "How hard can it be to find a parking space?"

Cloud shrugged. "You'd be surprised."

His usual show of nonchalance elicited a laugh from the young girl, which in turn caused him to brighten up. It didn't take long for the others to notice that there was something different about the two of them. They seemed more relaxed around one another, and were calmer and friendlier in each other's presence than they ever remembered seeing them. That, and they were holding hands and smiling softly at one another. It didn't take them long to figure things out.

"Wait," Tifa said. "You're.."

"Together," Yuffie said before she could finish her question, confirming what was on everyone's minds. She and Cloud stood next to one another, hand in hand, as if to illustrate the new bond that existed between them to the rest of the group.

No-one said anything, though the general look of surprise on everyone's faces spoke volumes about what they might be thinking. Everyone except for Tifa, whose face was all but impossible to read. "..I see."

Without any further comment, she turned to the rest of the group. "Listen... why don't we all get settled in?" she said. "We can finish putting our things away and then have dinner in the main hall."

"Sounds good to me, I'm starvin'," Cid said, as she ushered the group into the next room.

Sierra chuckled. "You always think with your stomach, dear."

"Damn, woman. You know I think with other body parts, too," Cid replied.

Sierra gave a sigh of exasperation, albeit a good-humoured one. "..If only that weren't true."

* * *

They found that the inside was even more pleasant to look upon than the outside. The inn's dining hall was fitted with rich mahogany and burnished rosewood, illuminated by sparse lighting and a roaring fire in the central chimney, creating a far cosier and more laid-back atmosphere than that of the Seventh Heaven.

"Sweet digs," Cid remarked.

"Seems kinda empty in here, though," Yuffie said. "Where are the other guests?"

"There's no-one else here right now," Tifa replied. "I've reserved the whole inn for us for the rest of the week."

"Nice," Yuffie said. "You work out some kind of special deal with the owner?"

"The owner?" Tifa replied. "You're looking at her," she added, placing a hand on her hip, looking quite pleased with herself.

"Whoa, really?" Yuffie replied. "Awesome!"

"This place is pretty fancy, all right," Cid said. "Must've run you something."

"I got a good price for the Seventh Heaven," Tifa explained. "Prime location in downtown Edge and all. I put that together with my savings and bought this place for it. Spent the better part of the summer fixing it up."

"All by yourself?" Yuffie asked.

"Hardly," Tifa replied. "I've got a few hired hands to help me out, but I gave them the week off. So, for now, it's just us."

"Just like old times," Barret said.

"You like it better here than the city?" Sierra asked.

Tifa nodded. "It's quieter here. Fewer crazy drunks to worry about. To tell you the truth, I was getting a little tired of city life. Too much hustle and bustle, you know?"

"I get ya," Yuffie said. She and the others remembered the story of how Tifa was forced to emigrate from the quiet countryside of her birth to the sprawling megalopolis that was Midgar. Not even that, so much as its seedy underbelly. In a roundabout way, by moving back to the countryside, things seemed to have come full circle for her.

"What about business?" Vincent asked. "I can't imagine many people come through here."

"It's pretty quiet right now, but it'll be tourist season soon," Tifa replied. "Things'll pick up then. In the meantime, make yourselves at home. There's a kitchen through there, and a lounge and a library on the other side of the house. Beds and bathrooms are upstairs."

Noting the expectant look on Cid's face, she added: "Also, there's a bar."

"Say no more," Cid replied, making a beeline for the counter on the opposite side of the room.

A few minutes later, the Avalanchers were all settled and food and drinks were served. As the night wore on, they talked, laughed, mingled and reminisced. Even the usually reticent Vincent didn't look out of place amidst the cheer.

Using the opportunity to separate from the rest of the group, Tifa seated herself and Yuffie down at the far end of the bar, then busied herself with pouring the two of them a drink.

"You're not gonna card me, are you?" Yuffie asked.

"What fun would that be?" Tifa replied. "Besides, you turn twenty this year, right? I figure we can start the celebrations early."

"If you say so."

"Besides, you must've stolen a few sips of the hard stuff here and there," Tifa added with a wink as she handed her friend the topped glass.

Yuffie accepted the drink with some reluctance. Despite her 'bad girl' image, hard liquor was one of those things that she'd kept far away from. Much to her chagrin, it seemed that even those closest to her harboured the wrong idea about her at times. "Nothing stronger than spiked cider," she replied. "I like to keep a clear head."

"That's smart," Tifa said.

"Besides, I've watched one too many idiot tourists get hammered in the Turtle's Paradise and break something."

"Someone's impromptu attempt at playing 'drunken master'?" Tifa asked, clearly finding the image amusing.

"More like 'drunken jackass'," Yuffie replied. "They usually end up clambering over the counter, flailing, losing their balance and smashing a few tables on the way down. Always good for a laugh, I guess.." she added, shrugging and taking another sip of her drink.

"I guess.." Tifa replied.

A brief silence fell between them. Yuffie glanced over at her friend, sensing that she was trying to broker the topic that they'd avoided all night, without being too abrupt. "So.." she finally said, setting her drink down, her eyes fixed on the counter. "You and Cloud.."


	4. For and Against

**Chapter 4**

**_'For and Against'_ **

* * *

As her friend spoke the words, Yuffie felt a twinge of guilt. Being too caught up in the bliss of her newfound relationship, the consequences of her actions hadn't dawned on her right away. She'd never had any qualms about taking things without permission, but now she felt like she was stealing something from her closest friend. Not just a potential lover, but a future that might have been. She glanced over at Tifa again. She didn't strike her as being angry or jealous, but given everything that they had been through together, she figured that she owed her the full story.

"Yeah, about that.."

She began to explain how the two of them had met that night, and what they had been up to in the weeks since, carefully omitting the details of her own reasons for departing from her homeland. Her friend simply sat there, nodding and listening, interrupting only on occasion to ask some clarifying question.

When she had finished her story, the two of them again sat in silence for a moment. Yuffie watched as Tifa looked out over the bar, finishing her drink. She couldn't read her friend's reaction, or rather, her lack thereof. If she was somehow upset by or opposed to this turn of events, she didn't show it. In any case, when she finally spoke up, her reaction was far from what she had expected.

"Thank you."

Yuffie looked at her friend, puzzled.

"For what?"

"From the way you tell the story, you make it sound like he rescued you that night," Tifa said. "But, to tell you the truth, I think it might have been the other way around."

"What do you mean?" Yuffie asked, utterly perplexed.

"After our run-in with Kadaj and then Deepground, I thought things were finally going to change," Tifa explained. "That we'd all have a chance to settle down and lead normal lives, for once. And that maybe, just maybe, he and I would become a real family."

She shook her head and looked away again. "But even with the world safe and the sickness gone, it wasn't enough. 'You can't go home again'. That's what they say, isn't it?"

Yuffie merely nodded, refilling their glasses as she waited for Tifa to continue.

"For me, it wasn't true. But for him... Well, you remember how things were back in Edge, before all the new trouble. I was so close to it, I couldn't see what was happening. He was slipping away again, and I couldn't do anything to stop it."

Yuffie thought back to those days. Although less than two years had passed since, they seemed pretty distant. Even so, she remembered the way things had been just before the incident in Edge. How aloof Cloud had grown, to the point where he was even beginning to alienate his old comrades-in-arms. "He was pretty cold to you back then, wasn't he? Distant, I mean.."

"It wasn't just him, you know," Tifa said. "I pushed him away, too. I couldn't tell that he was still suffering."

"You mean.."

"Aerith," Tifa confirmed her thoughts. She gave a wry chuckle. "It was so stupid. Our little 'rivalry'. I mean, she was _my_ friend, too, and.."

She trailed off, sighing again and taking a sip of her drink. She held the glass up to the light, watching as the liquid inside subtly changed colours in the fireplace's radiance. "Even so, after she was gone... I resented it a little. This idea of being the winner by default. And I think it drove a wedge between us, even though neither one of us would admit it."

"I think I understand," Yuffie said.

"I don't know what it was that they had," Tifa went on. "I think it was something more than friendship, or even love, for that matter. She woke him up. Changed him. You don't forget someone like that. Maybe if I'd given him more time.."

She trailed off again, and finished her drink. "You don't really get over something like that. Not really," she continued. "But you move on, somehow. As for the two of us not having our little happily-ever-after, I'm over that. We're different people now, and I've come to terms with it."

Leave it to Tifa to step away like this, Yuffie thought. There was never a time when she had not known her friend to be thoughtful and generous to the point of self-effacement. Now was no different, it seemed.

"But I was honestly worried that he wasn't going to make it," she added. "I'm glad you two found each other when you did. It's a chance to start over, I think. For both of you."

"So, you're okay with it, then?" Yuffie asked, still concerned that she was trespassing on something that she wasn't meant to be involved in.

"Well, it's not like I own him, or vice versa," Tifa said, the faintest outlines of a smile surfacing on her features. "As long as he's happy, then I am, too."

"You surprised?" Yuffie asked, glancing over at the rest of their friends. "Everyone else seems to be."

"To tell you the truth... in a way, I'm not," Tifa replied. "Cloud's always had a soft spot for you, you know."

She gave a slight chuckle, stirring her drink in the soft glow. "I knew there was something about you two, even though I couldn't quite put my finger on it," she continued, her mood seeming to improve as she reminisced about Avalanche's early days. "You two used to argue about the smallest, most trivial things until you were blue in the mouth. Like a sibling rivalry, almost. I remember when you first joined up with us, you two couldn't get along at all. There was hardly a day that went by without some shouting match between you two. But you always made up in the end. That's how I knew."

Yuffie thought about those days as well. The way that, even after they had rubbed each other the wrong way day in and day out, Cloud would still insist on checking in on her when no-one else would, to make sure she was okay. All those times when he would bring her medicine to counter her violent bouts of motion sickness which, given her active lifestyle, was a curse of the worst kind.

_The worst of the worst had been the ride on the tanker bound for Costa del Sol, crouched in a dark corner, knees drawn up against her face, rocking back and forth, desperately trying not to disgorge her breakfast. Though she feigned indifference as always, too proud and stubborn to admit weakness, she was at the lowest point in her life. Cut off from her homeland, with no-one to look to for support, on the last legs of some fool's errand of a crusade that even she was beginning to question... Just when she thought things couldn't get much worse, she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She looked up to see Cloud standing over her. Without making any comment, he quietly slipped her some tranquilizers to help her cope with the ship's gut-churning undulations, the first kindness anyone had shown her in a long time. He smiled at her. She smiled back._

"That's why he let you back into the group, when everyone else was ready to kick you out," Tifa said. "Because he believed there was something more to you than petty thievery. And he was right."

"Tifa.."

"He started slipping away from the world again," Tifa continued. "I was afraid that he might not come back at all. I'm grateful that you were there to catch him."

Yuffie paused. "So, why.."

"Why am I going through the trouble of explaining all of this?" Tifa asked. "I don't want there to be any misunderstanding between us. I'm happy for you," she added, placing a hand on her shoulder. "If anyone's going to be with him, I'm glad it's you."

Yuffie didn't know what to say. She felt humbled by her friend's charitable words. She couldn't articulate how gratifying it was to hear her give her approval of their relationship. Tifa, sensing her lingering hesitation, gave a soft laugh, which served to break up the last of the tension between them. "Come on. Don't look so serious," she said. "It's a celebration, remember?"

She reached for her empty glass, picking up the bottle from the counter. "Here, let me top you off."

Yuffie smiled at her. "Thanks, Tifa."

"To a brighter future," Tifa said, raising her own glass in a toast.

"I'll drink to that," Yuffie replied as they touched glasses.

* * *

Some time later in the evening the two girls were joined by Cloud, and the three of them moved over to a corner booth, where they talked amiably, reminiscing, laughing, and catching up on the latest events in each others' lives. Their camaraderie was short-lived, however. Cloud was about to refill everyone's glasses, when he felt someone clasp a hand on his shoulder.

"'scuse me, ladies," Cid said, offering a smile that was just a little too sincere. "Me and the kid here are gonna conversate for a bit. Ain't that right, Cloud?"

Before he could raise any protests, the captain had wheeled him over to the far side of the room, seating the two of them at the bar, before pouring himself a long, slow drink, then another. Cloud sat there, waiting for Cid to get to whatever it was that he felt was so important to bring up all of a sudden. It was certainly unusual, the way the captain regarded him with a look of commiseration, the kind one might afford a convicted man walking his last mile. He took another swig of his drink, let out a long sigh. At last, he spoke.

"Look, no offense, kid, but are you out of your fucking mind?"

"..What do you mean?" Cloud asked, puzzled.

"I mean, you and her?" Cid replied, gesturing back and forth between him and Yuffie. "I hate to break it to you, but it ain't never gonna work."

"How do you figure?"

"For starters, you're just too damn different," Cid said. "Ain't got a thing in common, from what I can tell."

Cloud knew that wasn't quite right, but he wasn't in the mood to try to correct Cid. He could tell that the captain had too much drink in him to be swayed by something as ineffectual as logic. Instead, he settled for agreeing to disagree. "Maybe that's not such a bad thing."

"Boy, you just don't wanna know.." Cid slurred, shaking his head and turning away while he poured himself yet another drink.

"The man's right," Barret said, taking the seat on Cloud's left. "It ain't gonna work out long-term, and you know it."

Cloud sighed. He had intended to go back and leave Cid to his potations, but before he knew it, he found himself flanked on either side, with Vincent, Reeve and Nanaki all within earshot. He glanced back over to the booth to see that his spot had been taken by Sierra. The three women were getting along great, by the look of it, talking, giggling and paying no mind to the congregation of men on the other side of the room. Realizing that escape was no longer an option, he resigned himself to the impromptu moratorium that seemed to be brewing, all the while wondering exactly when it was that his fellow Avalanche members had turned into a collective of busybodies.

"Look..." he replied. "No offense, but I don't see how this is any of your business."

"It's my bidness because I gotta put up with you two knuckleheads. _Damn,_ " Barret replied, as though this point were the most obvious thing in the world.

Cloud didn't bother to respond. He knew that it was pointless to argue when either of the two had reached this level of inebriation. He would have to simply endure the remainder of the harangue. He figured it would last about as long as the two of them could manage stay upright, which, given the rate at which they were consuming the libations on offer, wouldn't be much longer.

Barret went on, having emptied a tall mug of beer. "Look, tell you the truth, I don't much care who the hell you're knockin' boots with, but.."

This gave Cloud some pause. He wondered how it seemed so obvious to everyone how far he and Yuffie had taken their relationship. "How did you.."

"Ain't much of a surprise," Barret said. "You got that look about you."

Again, Cloud was left puzzled by the direction this conversation was taking. "What look?"

"Of two people who are, shall we say, more than well acquainted," Cid explained.

"Right. I mean, I know it's all fun and games right now, but y'all gotta think about the future, too," Barret said. "I mean, you two are still a little too young to be havin' kids."

"..Who said anything about having kids?" Cloud replied.

"Well, I ain't sayin' that's what y'all had in _mind_ ," Barret said, "but, you have been takin'... _precautions_ , right?"

This question left him stumped. Looking back, it hadn't really occurred to either of them. Everything that had happened for the past few weeks had been the product of spontaneity. Now, his friend's reminder left him wondering whether or not he should be worried. Barret, seeing the confused look on his face, frowned and shook his head. "Shit, boy. Ain't you got any sense in that spiky head of yours?"

"Kids these days.." Cid muttered in assent.

"I think they make a cute couple," Reeve chimed in.

"Yeah, well... 'cute' wears thin after a while, you know?" Barret grumbled. "'specially for the rest of us."

Despite his resignation to the judgement of his peers, Cloud found himself growing frustrated with his friends' behaviour. "Again, I fail to understand how this is anyone else's business. So, was there anything else, or are you guys done weighing in on my love life?"

"Naw, I think that's about it," Barret said, gulping down his second mug of beer.

"You sure?" Cloud asked. "How about you, Red? You feel like throwing in your two cents?"

"I have no stake or interest in whom you choose to mate with," Nanaki replied, wandering off. Evidently, the crimson beast had no desire to be made part of the conversation, something for which Cloud was thankful. That only left the solitary figure at the far end of the bar.

"Vincent?"

The gunman held his glass still for a moment, speaking without turning to look at the rest of the group.

"Just be cautious."

'Cryptic as ever', Cloud thought. He switched seats, moving closer to the former Turk and away from the increasingly drunken duo of Cid and Barret. Though he seemed reluctant to join the conversation, it seemed like he might have something more sensible to say. "Cautious, huh?"

"Yes," Vincent replied.

"How so?"

Vincent set his drink down and looked him in the eye. "What I'm trying to say is that this relationship, if you're serious about pursuing it, won't be all pleasantries. You're not simply dating some random stranger. Her friendly manner might cause us all to forget from time to time, but she is still the heir to an empire. That's not a responsibility to be taken lightly. I think you both know that."

Cloud nodded, waiting for Vincent to continue.

"As much as she resists the idea, sooner or later she's going to have to accept that responsibility. And when she does, she'll need you to stand by her. The political situation in Wutai is volatile right now, to say the least."

"I know," Cloud replied. "But I don't think she's going back home any time soon."

"Why not?" Vincent asked.

"She... has her reasons to stay away," Cloud replied.

It did not take Vincent long to figure out what his friend was telling him. "Reasons she has not shared with you."

Cloud shook his head. "Not yet."

"Hmmm. Curious.." Vincent replied, looking off into the distance and taking a sip of his drink. "In any case, these are concerns for another day. But I ask you to bear them in mind, nonetheless. The future and happiness of a great many people are at stake, not just your own."

"You're saying you think it's a bad idea?" Cloud asked.

Vincent slowly shook his head. "On the contrary. From what I can tell, you two seem to bring out the best in each other. But what I _am_ saying is that this relationship, if you decide to pursue it further, won't be just about the two of you. It would be wise to keep that in mind."

With that, Vincent rose from his seat. As he did, he placed a hand on Cloud's shoulder. "Call it giving a good friend fair warning."

He gave a nod to the others, signalling that he was retiring for the night.

"..Gentlemen."

* * *

Later still, as the celebrations were winding down, Cloud walked back over to the girls' booth, only to find Yuffie resting her head on the table. "Everything okay?" he asked.

"I think our little princess here has had one too many," Sierra said, reaching over to rub the back of Yuffie's head.

"..I'm fine," Yuffie muttered weakly in protest.

"Come on. You can barely lift your head off the table," Tifa said. "Cloud, why don't you take her upstairs? I'll bring some fresh bed sheets over in a minute."

"All right," Cloud nodded. He reached down, prying Yuffie away from the table, before lifting her up into his arms. "Come on. Let's get you to bed."

"..rather have bottle in fronta me than a frontal lobotomy..." Yuffie muttered, half-asleep.

"I'm sure you would, dear," Sierra replied, giggling. "Good night."

"'night," Cloud replied as he carried her upstairs.

* * *

Past midnight, the umbra of the house had become all but impenetrable, thanks to the original architect's insistence on 'natural lighting'. Cloud made his way through the upstairs corridor by ways of the sparse lamplight available to him, which was only marginally better than total darkness. After a couple of false turns, he found his way back to his and Yuffie's room, nearly bumping into someone as he turned the corner.

"Oh. Cloud.." Tifa said.

"Hey, Teef," he greeted her, noting the set of fresh towels in her hands. No doubt she was doing the last rounds for the night, making sure everyone had everything they needed. They stood there in the corridor for a moment, the first time they had been alone since their reunion, he realized.

"I was just heading to bed," Tifa said. "You?"

"The same," he replied.

Tifa glanced sideways, spying Yuffie through the half-open door. She appeared to be sound asleep, huddled underneath the warm covers. "Is she all right?"

"Yeah, I think she just had a bit too much," Cloud said.

"Sorry about that," Tifa said. "I guess Sierra and I could have done a better job playing the chaperone."

"Don't worry about it," Cloud said. "She might not know how to pace herself, but she rarely makes the same mistake twice."

Tifa gave a slight chuckle at this. "Right... that's good."

Another moment passed before either of them spoke up again. It occurred to Cloud that Tifa had opted to put them up in a room with one bed, rather than two. If that didn't represent a tacit approval of their relationship on her part, he didn't know what would. Still, he sensed that she still had some reservations about the whole thing, and it wasn't hard to figure out why.

His instincts turned out to be right, as she stopped him before he could wander off. "Listen.." she began. "There's something I wanted to say to you."

"What is it?" Cloud asked.

"First of all, I wanted to tell you the same thing I told her," Tifa said. "I'm happy for you two. I really am. But I need to say something else to you, too, and I don't want you to take it the wrong way."

She moved in closer, looking him in the eye before she spoke again. "You'd better be serious about her. Because if you're not... then I think it's best if you break this off, sooner rather than later. If things ended between you two the way they.."

She trailed off, pausing for a moment, weighing her words with care before continuing. "If they ended badly... she'd probably shrug it off as being nothing, but I know it'd really hurt her. And I can't have that. I just want you to keep that in mind."

"I understand," Cloud said. "It's fair that you think that, but you don't have to worry about me."

"Good," Tifa replied, allowing herself a small smile, looking as though she had finally heaved a great weight off her shoulders. "That's good."

She made to leave, but Cloud stopped her for a moment, wanting to get something off his chest, as well. "Tifa... I know it's a little late, but for what it's worth... I'm sorry about the way things ended between us."

"It hasn't ended," Tifa replied. "We're still friends, right?"

Cloud nodded, offering one of his rare smiles in reply.

"You don't have to apologize," Tifa said. "We were both at fault. But promise me you'll treat her right."

"I will," Cloud said. "I promise."

Satisfied with the outcome of their conversation, she turned and walked off down the corridor, turning back just as he was entering his room. "Cloud?" she said, causing him to pause in the doorway.

"It's good to have you back," she said, folding her hands behind her back. "...Well, good night."

"Good night," he replied, shutting the door. He looked over at where Yuffie lay, half-asleep. She was resting, although not very peacefully, it seemed to him. Still, he thought, she would be fine the morning after, having learned her lesson.

He sat down on the opposite side of the bed, leaning over and brushing a hand against her forehead. She groaned, wincing at his touch, and made some half-hearted attempts to bat his hand away. "You okay?" he asked.

"Ugh... never again," she replied.

"You need to learn to slow it down," Cloud said.

"You need to learn to shove it," Yuffie muttered, pressing a pillow against her head. Cloud chuckled at her remark. He undressed, slipping under the covers next to her. She turned to face him, wrapping her arms around his waist, nestling her head underneath his chin. "G'night," she whispered. He leaned down to kiss the top of her head, running his fingers idly through her locks, soothing her headache. A few moments later, she was asleep.

He remained awake a while longer, still pondering the events of the day. It was odd, the way everyone seemed compelled to weigh in on their relationship, whether pro or contra. But at least he knew where they all stood. In the end, however, there was only one person whose opinion truly mattered to him. And despite his assurances to his childhood friend, he still didn't know where it was all headed. It was a pleasant surprise to both of them, to be sure, but there was still no telling how it might all end. For now, though, he was content to hold her close, enjoying the warmth that they shared.

All told, being reunited like this could only mark the beginning of better times. And with it came the knowledge that they could finally put the past behind them, and look forward to the future.

To a new day.


	5. Echoes

_"If a man could pass through Paradise in a dream, and have a flower presented to him as a pledge that his soul had really been there, and if he found that flower in his hand when he awake — Aye, what then?"  
_ -Coleridge

 

**_Chapter 5_ **

**_'Echoes'_ **

* * *

 

_".._ _I'll come back when it's all over._ _"_

The dream again. 

No longer was the forest merely in a state of decay, but charred and blackened. The last rays of sunlight had been swallowed up by the dusk, and in the distance, the great, all-consuming fire encircled the grounds, closing her in.

Yuffie watched as her departed friend stalked towards her, growing more and more unnerved by the apparition's steady, unbroken pace. As before, she was acutely aware of the illusory nature of her surroundings, but remained powerless to force herself to wake. All she could do was wait, as the scenario played itself out yet again, hoping that it would soon end.

At first, the fallen Cetra approaching her had seemed to be more shadow than substance, but as she drew nearer, Yuffie could see her for what she had become: A withered, skeletal husk. The thing that was once her friend continued to stagger towards her, twitching and convulsing in a way that made her stomach turn.

Despite the rotting cadaver's proximity, its features remained hidden, obscured by the intermittent light from the fire and wreathed in scorched leaves that poured down to the ground like black rain. She could see the pendulous flesh hanging from its bones, the thin strands of the torn, discoloured dress, but still she could not make out her friend's face, until they were mere inches apart.

Yuffie nearly away shrank away in horror as she saw Aerith's face clearly for the first time. Almost nothing remained of it, save the jagged bone underneath, and what little flesh still clung to her visage was peeling off by layers, twisting her sweet smile twisted into a cruel mockery of its former self. The cadaver's head slumped as she came to a halt, right in front of the young ninja.

A shrill, piercing noise, like a distorted scream, penetrated the inside of her head, overpowering her senses. At the same moment, she heard a chilling whisper emanating from within the animate corpse standing in front of her, as it slowly, very slowly, raised its head again, to stare at her with hollow eyes and that hideous grin.

_"_ _It's... all... over._ _"_

* * *

It wasn't until someone had whispered to her for the second time that it was okay, that it was just a dream, that she finally realized she had stopped screaming. She looked about the room, wild-eyed and confused, to find herself surrounded by a sea of concerned faces. Evidently, her screaming in the middle of the night had brought the rest of Avalanche rushing over to her and Cloud's bedroom. They stood all around the couple, wondering what all the commotion was. 

"Geez, kid. Are you all right?" Cid asked.

"Yeah...." Yuffie managed, swallowing hard. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"What happened?" Tifa asked.

Yuffie shook her head, doing her best to ward off the lingering headache. Her face was still flushed, but she had got her breath back, at least. "Bad dream, is all," she replied.

"Must've been one hell of a dream," Cid said. "Damn near gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry," Yuffie said. "I'm okay, really."

"You sure?" Vincent asked.

"Yeah.." Yuffie replied, looking up at her friends again. "Sorry for getting everyone out of bed."

Her friends eyed her with concern, seemingly reluctant to leave, but she eventually persuaded them to return to their own rooms, except for Tifa, who insisted on staying with her while Cloud headed downstairs to the kitchen to get her a glass of water. The older girl sat down next to her on the bed, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Talk to me," she said. "What's really bothering you?"

"It's nothing," Yuffie replied. She could tell that Tifa didn't believe her. Not that she blamed her. She wouldn't have believed herself at that point, either.

"Come on, Yuffie. You don't wake up in the middle of the night over 'nothing'," Tifa said.

Yuffie fidgeted with her hands, reaching up to adjust the straps of her camisole to keep them from chafing. "I've been having these weird dreams, night after night. I guess tonight was just... weirder than usual."

"I see," Tifa replied. "Are you sure that's all?"

"Yeah..." Yuffie said. "Why?"

"Cloud said he was worried about you," Tifa said. "That you hadn't been feeling well lately. And he mentioned something about you leaving Wutai in a hurry. He didn't say much more than that, though, so I thought I'd ask you."

As much as she appreciated her friend's concern, Yuffie was reluctant to say much about what was happening to her. At least, not while she was still piecing things together. She barely knew herself whether there was any real cause for concern. "You don't have to worry about me," she replied.

"You do seem a little more unwound than usual," Tifa said, getting up and heading for the door. "But if you say it's nothing, then.."

"Hey, wait," Yuffie said, stopping her for a moment. "...Thanks."

"For what?" Tifa asked.

"I don't know," Yuffie said, lowering her gaze to the floor. "It's just... you're always looking out for me, like I'm family."

Tifa offered a warm smile in reply. "You are."

Just then, Cloud came back inside the room, carrying a tall glass of water. "Here," he said, handing the cold glass to Yuffie.

"Thanks," she said, smiling at him and Tifa as she brought the cool liquid to her lips.

"I'm heading back to bed," Tifa said. "But you let me know if need anything, all right? I'm just down the hall." With that, she left the two of them by themselves.

Moments later, they were curled up together under the covers once more. Yuffie found that she still couldn't relax completely. Even though the nightmare had passed, and she was safe and sound in her lover's embrace, she remained tense and alert, shaken up by the unpleasant vividness of the experience. Its final image had appeared before her for only the briefest of moments, but it terrified her more than anything she had experienced before in her life, waking or dreaming. She would have liked to pretend that it was just nerves. But waking up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night was becoming an everyday occurrence for her. And the nightmares, rather than fading away, were gradually becoming more tangible, more intense.

Although he had his eyes closed, she could tell that Cloud was still awake. It seemed as though he was intent on waiting for her to fall asleep before doing the same, out of concern for her well-being. In a way, that only made things worse, she thought. It ate away at her that she couldn't be completely honest, even with those closest to her. Eventually, she would have to level with them, and tell the truth, even though she wasn't sure herself yet what that the truth was.

She shifted her position, turning to face the other way, placing her hands on top of Cloud's as he wrapped his arms around her waist. She lay still for a long while, staring at the wall opposite her, unable to sleep, or even let her guard down for a moment.

"Am I going crazy?" she whispered.

"It's just a dream," Cloud said. "You said so yourself."

"..I'm not so sure anymore," she replied.

Sighing, she gave up on the idea of sleep. She switched on the light on her nightstand and sat up in bed. Cloud sat up next to her, and she leaned her slender frame against him, resting her head on his shoulder. He reached up, running his fingers through her dark locks, soothing her. The sensation helped calm her nerves, if only a little. The two of them remained in that position for a long while, silently watching the rain beating against their bedroom window.

"I just want it to stop," she whispered at last, breaking the silence.

Cloud leaned down, pressing a kiss against the top of her head. Yuffie closed her eyes again, wrapping her arms around him tighter. She might have been perfectly content to enjoy the moment, were it not for the lingering fear that her nightly visitations had left her with.

It was such a strange thing, when she thought about it. Almost impossible to believe. She was afraid of her departed friend. Afraid of Aerith Gainsborough, of all people. To think of her this way seemed wrong, somehow. As if what she were seeing wasn't her friend from back in the day, but some horrible, twisted version of her, haunting her in her dreams. The kind of malice that the spectre projected was something the fallen Cetra was entirely incapable of. She certainly wouldn't terrorize her old friends in this manner. That kind of behaviour was so far out of touch with her personality that she couldn't even begin to fathom what changes would have to take place for something like that to happen. It simply wasn't possible.

So, what could it mean?

"You still haven't told me what it's all about," Cloud said. "Is it the same thing?"

Yuffie nodded.

"Every time?" he asked.

She nodded again, closing her eyes.

"What do you see?"

"Aerith," she whispered.

She waited for a moment, then looked up, surprised by Cloud's reaction, or rather, his lack thereof. He simply stared out the window, the blank look on his face impossible to read. "I see.." he replied. "Come to think of it, you started having those dreams not long after we spent that night at her church. You think that might have something to do with it?"

"Maybe," Yuffie said. "I don't know."

"I'm sure it'll pass," Cloud said. Yuffie knew he wasn't one for giving out false hope. Still, she appreciated his attempts to comfort her. She ran her hand up his arm, stopping just short of the spot where he had once worn Aerith's ribbon. After three years, he had finally let go of that attachment. She wondered what it was that had made him decide to do so.

"What's on your mind?" he asked.

"I was just thinking.." she said. "We don't really bring that up anymore. Aerith, I mean."

"I know," Cloud replied. "People still act like I'm going to fall apart at the mere mention of her name."

Now that he mentioned it, she realized that he had never once asked anyone to refrain from the topic of their friend's death, or even implied anything of the sort. It had simply become a tacit agreement between everyone else not to bring it up, at least in his presence. He had certainly never forbidden it. But, she reminded herself, he had never spoken to anyone about it, either, and it wasn't difficult for her to guess as to why that might be. Perhaps time had finally dulled the pain associated with those memories. Even so, she didn't wish for them to forget, altogether.

"You still miss her?" she asked.

He gave a slight nod in reply. "Every day."

"Me too," Yuffie said. By the time she had vanished from their group, she had gotten to regard Aerith as the older sister she'd never had. But now the dreams that accosted her were beginning to distort her memories of her fallen friend.

"You want to go back to sleep?" Cloud asked.

Yuffie shook her head slowly. "I don't think I can."

"It's pretty close to morning, anyway," Cloud said, glancing over at the alarm clock on the nightstand. "Why don't I fix us some breakfast?"

"You can't cook," Yuffie pointed out.

Cloud shrugged. "Neither can you."

"Good point," she giggled. "I guess we're screwed, huh?"

"Come on," he replied, getting out of bed. "I'm sure I can manage some cold cuts, at least."

* * *

Later in the morning, Yuffie was sitting at the bar by herself, cupping a half-filled glass of lukewarm water between her hands. Although a couple of hours had gone by, she was still nursing the worst of the headache that the sleepless night had left her with. Cloud had left the inn a little while ago to pick up supplies from the market district. Given that they had been out on the road for the past few weeks, they hadn't brought much with them. Even so, it was only after she had assured him that she would be okay by herself that he departed, leaving her with a parting kiss and a promise to return as soon as possible.

She watched as the other Avalanchers faltered down the stairs, most of them looking as dishevelled as herself. It was clear that she wasn't the only one who'd had a rough right. Their hostess, however, showed no sign of being fazed or fatigued. "Good morning," Tifa greeted her, smiling at the young ninja as she moved behind the counter and began to prepare breakfast. "Feeling better?"

Yuffie shook her head, idly wondering how some people managed to be so chirpy in the morning. "Not really. I mean, you know. Tired. Lack of sleep."

Her friend looked her over briefly. It wasn't just last night. She'd been sleeping less and less these past few weeks, and she had a feeling that it was starting to show. "Well, look on the bright side," Tifa said. "At least you didn't wake up with a hangover."

She indicated Barret, who lay sprawled out on the couch next to the bar, moaning and groaning. "Gods, have mercy... I'm gonna die here.."

"Tifa, daddy's acting weird, like that night after Meteorfall," Marlene said, tugging on Tifa's skirt. "Is he really going to die?"

Tifa chuckled, kneeling down and patting the young girl on the head. "No, sweetie. He's going to be fine. He just needs to learn to hold his liquor. Isn't that right, Barret?" she added, narrowing her eyes at the big man laid out on her couch.

"Oh, _god_.." Barret groaned, turning over on his side. "Kill me now."

Tifa sighed, returning to the stove. "Cid's been locked up in the men's room for the past half-hour," she said to Yuffie, gesturing towards the bathroom doors. "Did his best to clean out the liquor cabinet last night. By the sound of it, he's doing the same to his insides right now."

Despite her lingering grogginess, Yuffie couldn't help but laugh. "No kidding?"

"You might want to consider those two a cautionary tale," Tifa replied.

No sooner had she spoken the words than the two of them saw Cid stumble out of the bathroom.

"Mornin', Cid," Tifa said, brandishing her frying pan and its sizzling contents the captain's way. "Eggs?"

The captain's eyes went wide at the sight of the bubbling yolks being thrust his way. He clutched his mouth with one hand, waving away at the frying pan with the other, as if to keep her breakfast offering at bay, before fleeing to the bathroom for a second time, his abrupt retreat eliciting a second laugh from the two girls.

_'_ _The more things change.._ _'_ Yuffie thought.

"So, what's been keeping you up at night?" Tifa asked as she went about her business behind the counter. The nonchalant way in which she asked the question threw the young ninja off balance for a moment. She pondered whether she ought to deflect the question or to answer it honestly. In the end, she decided it was better to be honest. She was tired of keeping secrets from the others.

"Aerith," she said. "I've been dreaming about Aerith."

Feeling parched, she raised her glass to her lips, emptying it. As she set it down again, she noticed that all eyes were on her. "...What?" she asked, feeling strangely self-conscious, wondering why her seemingly innocuous revelation had suddenly made her the centre of attention.

"Did you say you had a dream about Aerith?" Vincent asked.

"Yeah. Why?" Yuffie replied, still not sure why the others were all staring at her. Without exception, the other Avalanchers had gone from fighting off drowsiness and generally minding their own business to hanging on to her every word.

"Just one?" Vincent asked, approaching her.

"No... I've been having them for a while, now," Yuffie admitted, noticing the way the others all exchanged glances with one another.

"What do you see in it?" Vincent asked, taking a seat next to her.

"She..." Yuffie hesitated. "It's hard to say. It's... like she's coming back."

Another round of glances exchanged. "..Why is everyone looking at me like that?" she asked.

"Yuffie..." Vincent said. "I've been having the same dream."

"Yeah... I had a dream like that, too," Reeve said, leaning up against the wall and crossing his arms.

"Same here," Barret said, sitting up.

Vincent glanced around the room, looking each of his comrades over in turn. "All of you?" he asked. They all nodded, looking puzzled and disturbed by the strange coincidence.

"What about Cloud?" Vincent asked, turning to the young ninja once more.

Yuffie shook her head. "Not that I know of."

"Do you remember anything else?" Vincent asked. "Any details?"

"Not really," Yuffie replied. "It's all kind of vague."

"What about the rest of you?" he asked, directing his question to the group at large.

"I keep seeing that day when we laid her to rest," Tifa said. "Watched her body sink down into the water. Except when I see it, it's happening in reverse.."

The others gathered around the bar, and began to compare the fragmentary details of their own dreams. The discussion started to move away from Yuffie's dreams specifically, for which she was grateful. A few moments into the conversation, the captain stumbled out of the bathroom, wondering what all the commotion was. The others quickly explained, and asked him if he had had any similar experiences, to which he replied in the affirmative.

"That just leaves one," Vincent commented, noting that Cloud had not returned yet.

"Guess so," Cid replied. "Kinda fucked up, when you think about it. I mean, what are the chances of us all dreamin' about the same thing like that?"

"Not great," Vincent replied.

"Hmmm. Didn't none of us wake up screaming, though," Cid remarked, glancing over at Yuffie.

"I... I guess last night was just really intense, you know?" she replied, chiding herself internally for not being wholly honest with the others.

"And yet you say you can't remember any details," Vincent pointed out.

"I.." Yuffie paused, racking her brain for an answer, when she caught sight of Cloud returning from the market.

"What'd I miss?" he asked, seeing the way everyone was gathered together. Again, they explained what they had just learned, and everyone's attention briefly turned to him as they questioned him about the matter at hand.

"So, what about you?" Reeve asked.

"I don't dream," Cloud said.

"Bullshit," Cid replied. "Everybody dreams. You probably just don't remember it."

"Pretty sure I'd remember something like this," Cloud said.

"So, what does it all mean?" Tifa asked. "We all just happen to have dreams about Aerith coming back? All at the same time? It seems a little more than coincidence."

"Perhaps we're interpreting the dream incorrectly," Nanaki pointed out.

"You're assuming that there is something to interpret," Cloud said, shrugging. "Dreams are just that. Dreams. They don't have any meaning."

"I agree," Vincent said. "Dreams are naught but projections of phantasms upon a blank canvas, the byproducts of the ever-occupied machinery of the mind. Certainly plenty of people throughout history have made their hay from the charity of credulous fools seeking answers where there are none... But there is perhaps no better indication of someone's state of mind," he added, glancing over at Yuffie again. She locked eyes with the former Turk for a moment, before turning away from his questioning gaze.

The others, too, exchanged glances, falling silent as they did, acutely aware of how their reunion had taken on a more sombre tone than they had expected.

"You know, it's gettin' to be close to that time of year," Cid remarked, referring to their annual ritual of visiting the lost city and the cliffs outside of Old Midgar to pay their respects. "Maybe we could go for an early visit this year."

"Don't see why not, since we're all here," Tifa said. "We can take the Highwind, fly over to the northern continent, then come back here in a couple of days. What do you say?"

The others all gave their assent. Whatever the truth of their shared dream might be, they could put their minds at ease by journeying to Aerith's final resting place.

"All right, then. It's decided."

With the decision made, everyone's spirits lifted. Everyone's except for Yuffie's, that was. For a moment, she had seemed relieved. But then she had looked up into the mirror behind the bar, and another thought seemed to cross her mind. Cloud looked her over as he sat down next to her, noticing the way her hands were trembling. He asked her if she was feeling all right, and she absently replied that she was, even though it was clear to him that she was anything but. Growing concerned, he wondered what it was that weighed so heavily on her mind. Why she suddenly looked so pale.

 


	6. A Promise Kept

"And why should instinct nourish hopes in vain?"

— _John Clare, 'The Instinct of Hope'_

 

**Chapter 6  
** **'A Promise Kept'**

* * *

Yuffie leaned over the railings at the far end of the Highwind's observation deck, inhaling the cool, crisp air as she took in the paradisaic vista around her. It was a perfect summer day, with nothing but clear skies and the infinite blue ocean below, burning with its incandescent reflections of the midday sun.

The last time she had been up here, she had been in neither the mood nor health to enjoy the view as she did now, her medication finally allowing her to move about the airship without succumbing to her debilitating motion sickness. Despite her initial reservations about returning to the lost city, she found that she was sleeping better now that they had begun their journey to the north. The nightmares no longer plagued her, and her health was slowly beginning to return. Her mood and mental state, likewise, had improved considerably since that first night of Avalanche's reunion back in Kalm.

A fleeting sensation of nostalgia coursed through her as she recalled the last time she had been up here, four years ago. That odd feeling of deja vu wore off quickly enough, but the impression lingered. She remembered looking out over the exact same vista. The words that had been exchanged on that fateful day. It all seemed strangely familiar.

"Been a while," a voice came from behind, breaking her train of thought. It was Cloud, speaking to her in her native tongue. He had a habit of slipping into Wutaian from time to time when he was in her presence, having picked up a smattering of it in the four years that they had known each other. Of course, given the company he kept, most of his vocabulary consisted of curse words and 'colourful' phrases. She would occasionally tease him about 'going native' when he lapsed into this habit, to which he usually replied that she didn't seem to mind. He was right.

She hadn't noticed when he had snuck up on her, and it always surprised her how quietly he was capable of moving. Before she could turn and reply, she felt him drape something soft over her shoulder. She looked down to see what it was: A single, white rose.

"Very funny," she said, rolling her eyes as she snatched the offending thing from his hand, regarding it with a frown.

"I wasn't trying to be," he replied, leaning over the railings next to her.

She sighed. "You guys really aren't going to let me live that one down, are you?"

In addition to her usual boasting, her penchant for inventing laudatory nicknames for herself on a whimhad not gone unnoticed by the other members of Avalanche. For some reason, her 'White Rose of Wutai' appellation, though mostly intended as a joke, had stuck. She figured that she had Vincent and Reeve to thank for that. Still, the earnest look on Cloud's face assured her that he wasn't making fun of her. "I don't know," he replied. "I think that one suits you, actually."

"Thanks... I guess," Yuffie did her best to hide the slight blush on her cheeks as she examined the pale bloom. "It's pretty."

"They grow in Midgar now, you know," Cloud said.

"Guess the world's really changing, huh?" Yuffie said, shivering slightly as a cold gust of wind blew over the deck. Cloud stood behind her, pulling her into his arms as they looked out over the horizon together.

"For the better," he said. "...for once," he added in a rather more sombre tone.

Yuffie leaned back, letting out a contented sigh as she relaxed in his arms. "It's a start," she replied, turning halfway and glancing up to steal a kiss. He was only too eager to let her.

* * *

Tifa was pacing. She didn't pace often. But today, she was pacing. Vincent watched her as she wandered back and forth across the airship's bridge, looking unusually distraught.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she replied, pausing. "Why?"

Vincent said nothing, merely tilting his head as he waited for her to tell him what was on her mind.

She exhaled a long breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding in. "Okay, I'm a little nervous, to tell you the truth," she replied.

"How come?" Vincent

"I don't know. Just being back here, I guess," she said, looking out at the approaching continent through the ship's viewport. "It feels.."

"Strange," Vincent finished for her.

"Yeah," she nodded.

"I know what you mean," Barret said, joining in their conversation. "That place still gives me the creeps."

"Why?" Nanaki asked. "There's no-one here."

"That's what I mean," Barret said. "Think about it. This place wasn't any different from Midgar or Edge, back in the day. Now it's just... empty."

"He's right," Tifa said. "Imagine all the people who used to live here. Work. Struggle. Love."

"And hate," Vincent pointed out.

"All those lives, gone," Tifa said. "Makes me wonder if Edge and all those other cities are going to be that some day. Just some empty ruins for someone else to find."

"You know what I think?" Cid said. "I think y'all think too much about this kind of crap."

Reeve shrugged. "Someone's got to."

"Well, anyway, we'll be touching down soon, so get your asses in gear," Cid said. "Anybody seen Yuffie or Cloud?"

"They're up top, I think," Vincent said.

Cid cringed at the thought of Avalanche's two motion sickness sufferers hanging out together on his ship. "..Christ, I knew I shouldn't have cleaned the deck this morning."

* * *

Cloud  held  Yuffie close  as they  gazed out over the starboard side of the observation deck, watching  as  the  northern continent came  into view.  Instead of the d isquiet  that he usually experienced upon returning here,  he  felt a strange sense of calm. F or once in his life, he was at peace, perfectly at ease with himself.  Yuffie seemed to share  in his  state of calm  as she leaned against him, resting  her slender form against hi s own , in a state of  blissful relaxation.  He realized that t his was  uncharted  territory for both of them.  Not too long ago, any notion of lasting happiness and stability had seemed to nothing more than a  foolish dream. B ut here they were.

Still, as pleasant as it was spending time together like this, he couldn't help but wonder again exactly what it was that they had. He recalled his friends' well-meaning harangue the other day, as well as Tifa and Vincent's warnings. At the time, he had dismissed their concerns as unfounded. But perhaps they were right to worry, after all. A brief romance was one thing. He and Yuffie had both had their share of frustrations to work out, not to mention needs to tend to. It was easy enough to chalk up their relationship up to that point to simple lust and unfulfilled desire, sublimating into a mutual catharsis. But a future together? That was something else, entirely. A far greater commitment for both of them. Although he hoped that he was wrong, he still wasn't sure if it could last.

But for all his reservations and self-doubt, he couldn't think of anyone that he'd rather be with. He and Yuffie knew and understood each other in a way that few people ever would.The same was true for the rest of Avalanche. There would never be other people who could wholly enter into their closely-knit circle of friends, given the sum of their experiences together. Strengths and weaknesses. Hopes, dreams and fears. All of these had been put to the test during their arduous journeys together through inhospitable landscapes, countless battles, and the innumerable trials that they had faced. Such trials had fostered an intimacy between them all that could not arise under any other circumstances.In some ways, other people would always be strangers to them. Knowing that, there was no doubt in his mind that he wanted to stay with her. He could only hope that she felt the same way, but he didn't want to risk what they had right now by bringing it up. Not just yet.

A cold gust of wind blew across the deck as the airship drew closer to their destination. "I guess I should be getting below deck," he said. "You staying up here?"

Yuffie gave a nod, leaning over the railings as he released her from his embrace. Despite the ameliorative effects of her medicine, he knew it wasn't a good idea for her to be moving around too much during the landing. Giving her a final squeeze of the hand, he turned to leave, heading back inside, when she spoke up suddenly.

"I love you."

Cloud froze, unsure of whether he had heard her right, or whether he'd simply imagined it. Turning around, he saw her still standing at the far end of the deck, leaning over the railings, looking out over the horizon, with her back turned to him. He was unable to tell anything about the expression on her face, or see what was going through her mind.

"Yuffie.."

"You don't have to say it back," she said as he approached her again. "Not if you don't mean it. I just... wanted to tell you. That's all."

He clasped a hand on her shoulder, gently turning her around. She looked up at him, with a mixture of anticipation and uncertainty. It never failed to steal his breath away whenever she regarded him in this manner, and he could tell she was having the same effect on him, by the subtle reaction that she gave as he looked deep into her eyes.

Though he knew the more energetic and mischievous aspect of her personality was never far away, he was still pleasantly surprised by this other side of Yuffie, one that she rarely showed to anyone, out of fear of being perceived as weak. But when she was in his presence, she allowed herself to be vulnerable and caring. He felt honoured that she trusted him to this degree, and he knew he could not violate that trust, especially now that she had opened up to him completely.

She continued to gaze up at him, an expectant look on her face as she waited for him to say something, though she also seemed worried about what he might say. That it might not be the answer that she wanted to hear. But he knew she had nothing to worry about.  He had never been more  certain of anything in his life.

He gave her a soft smile as he brushed a stray lock of hair from her face, his hands running down the side of her face as he gripped her shoulders lightly, before he leaned down to place a long, passionate kiss on her lips.She responded eagerly, tiptoeing as she reached up to wrap her arms around his shoulders, pressing her body against his as their kiss deepened. He encouraged her by slipping his arms around the small of her back, the heat building up between them as they held each other closer. A good minute or so passed before they finally broke away again, entirely out of breath.

"I love you, too," he said, brushing a hand against her cheek.

She gave him the brightest smile he'd ever seen. He had less than a second to brace himself as she threw her arms around his waist, squeezing him hard. He gave a small, albeit amused, indication of his discomfort, and she eased up slightly as he hugged her back.

As they stood there on the observation deck, caught up in each other, he couldn't help but smile as a familiar voice from the past echoed in his mind.

_'Catch you later..'_

Yuffie looked up at him, puzzled by the odd smile on his face. "What?"

"Nothing," Cloud replied, kissing the top of her head. "Nothing at all."

* * *

The eight of them made their way through the forest in silence, the kind of reverential hush that inevitably came over the group in these surroundings. They knew the path well by now, and it wasn't long before they reached the bluff overlooking the lost city. The place looked no different from before, its unearthly beauty remaining unaltered throughout whole centuries. Yet they all sensed that something had changed, though they could not yet tell what it was.

It didn't take long for them to realize that something _was_ different. The water in the riverbed running below the city, usually no more than a trickle, was flowing at a torrential rate, springing from some unknown source.

As they approached the glade where they had laid Aerith to rest, they immediately noticed something stranger still. The pool of water at the heart of the inner forest was roiling and churning in a way that they'd never seen before. As they drew nearer, the body of water lifted nearly in unison, before gushing upwards in a vertical spire. They hurriedly retreated to avoid getting soaked as the water came crashing down to the ground once more.

"What was _that_?" Yuffie asked.

"Look," Vincent pointed towards the centre of the pool. "There's something in the water."

At first, they strained their eyes to see what he was pointing out, but before long, they all spotted the shape of a person in the water, unmoving. It was no illusion.

Tifa's eyes widened as she brought a hand up to her face. "It can't be.."

Cloud glanced over at the others, still frozen in a state of indecision, before rushing over to the rim and diving into the pool. He swam downwards, half-blinded by the opaque water, towards the naked form in the centre of the pool as it began to sink towards the bottom again. The others watched with fascination and horror as he vanished from their sight. It was not long, however, before he returned, making his way back to the surface with his free arm as he held on to the inert body. The others hurried over to the rim of the pool, helping the two of them out of the water. Their amazement only grew more profound as they realized who it was.

It couldn't be. And yet, it was. In their midst lay Aerith's body, unblemished by any visible wounds, and untainted by the passage of time.

But she wasn't moving.

In a fit of panic, Cloud began to perform resuscitation techniques on her to the best of his ability. Her flesh was cold to the touch, and she remained unmoving. But, just as he was about to give up hope, he felt her give a slight cough, and he could feel the warmth slowly returning to her body, to his great relief. Vincent approached the two of them, lending Aerith his cloak in order to protect her modesty. Cloud quickly draped the cloak around her naked form, cradling her in his arms as she came to.

He still couldn't believe it. She was alive.

Her eyes fluttered open, and she shivered and convulsed as she looked around her. There was a blank look in her eyes, as though she did not recognize her surroundings. She looked at him, too, with no indication that she recognized him, or any of the Avalanchers, for that matter. Cloud watched her with dismay, afraid that she might be caught in a state of catatonia, or worse. "Aerith, it's me," he said, taking her hand, his fear growing stronger as she failed to respond. "Say something," he added. "...please."

The wild look in her eyes gradually gave way to recognition and relief as she grew accustomed to her surroundings, the change coming over her little by little, as the healthy shade of red returned to her cheeks.

"..Sorry I'm late," she replied, only able to manage a faint whisper. She looked up at Cloud and smiled, her hand brushing against his cheek, quelling the torrent of emotion in his own mind. His confusion turned to relief as he saw that she was indeed alive and unharmed.

The others moved in closer, encircling Aerith and Cloud, still caught in a state of surprise and euphoria at the miracle they had just witnessed. Aerith's untimely demise had served as the catalyst that had brought them all closer together. In the wake of that tragedy, they had been more determined than ever to protect their world, and to fight to put it back together. And now that she had returned to them, the last piece of the puzzle had fallen into place.

Yuffie stood at the back of the crowd, watching the happy scene unfold. scarcely believing what she had just seen. But, for some reason, she felt that lingering feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach rising once more. Although she shared her friends' elation, she sensed that something was about to change, and not for the better..


	7. Where Sleeping Dogs Lie

"It is nought good a sleeping hound to wake."

— _Chaucer_

**Chapter 7  
** **'Where Sleeping Dogs Lie'**

* * *

_  
Four years prior - Seven days after Meteorfall_

 

"The war's over, Atlas."

Atlas stared with utter incomprehension into the man's face. The man who had just told him that his existence was now meaningless. Out of sheer desperation, he asked him to repeat what he had said. The man, a scientist by all appearances, looked down at his subject with growing exasperation. Atlas had a vague feeling that it was not the first time he'd asked, or even the second.

"No... I have to go back," he urged the scientist. "You need to send me back."

"It's _over_ , Atlas," the scientist repeated. "The war between Shinra and Wutai is over. Finished."

"I don't understand," Atlas said. "We were so close to taking the capital, and then.."

The scientist stood and walked away, shaking his head and sighing. Atlas summoned what little strength he had, in an attempt to raise himself into an upright position, but he slipped and fell back into the pod in which he'd been resting. Strain as he might, his body simply would not comply. With great effort, he managed to tilt his head to one side. He saw the array of steel coffins within which his comrades in arms remained confined. Each pod was marked with a long series of numbers, along with an inscription at the end: 'Apex'

A single, acute memory came rushing back through his head as he read the word. _Rushing through the_ _scorched_ _remains of the forest situated_ _i_ _n northern Wutai._ _R_ _azing the villages_ _that stood_ _between them and the capital._ _Cutting down swathes of their enemy's elite_ _warriors_ _as though it were child's play._ _Next came a_ _n uneasy march through one of the abandoned cities on the outskirts of the empire's capital. Then,_ _an explosion ringing out in the middle of the night. Screaming. Panic. A severed arm_ _—_ _not his, thankfully_ _—_ _lying_ _on the ground, inches from his face._ _He blacked out as the flames consumed all around him, waking up again on_ _a military helicopter,_ _speeding_ _him_ _and the other survivors_ _to a hospital._ _And then, nothing. Nothing until this moment._

From what he could tell, he was situated in a laboratory, which he assumed to be one of Shinra's underground black sites. A place where they could conduct their less ethical experiments in peace. He guessed that they must be somewhere in the vicinity of Midgar. He had a feeling that he had been here before. That he ought to know this place quite well. But he could not remember. How long had he been here?

But he had no time to ponder any of this. The ringing in his ears was growing louder, threatening to overwhelm his senses. He convulsed violently as another wave of nausea coursed through his body, and the light grew too bright, drowning the world out in an impenetrable haze.

Lucid again. The piercing noise was gone, replaced by a suffocating silence. He blinked as the glare slowly faded away, and the world came into view once more. He sensed that some time had passed, but he could not tell how much.

As he attempted to rise up again, he heard two voices arguing. One belonged to the man who had woken him up. The other he did not recognize, though by the tenor of their conversation, he was the one in charge of the facility.

"I don't know about this, Sadat," the first voice said.

"There's nothing to discuss," the second voice replied. "Shinra's finished. It's time to pack up and go."

"How can you be sure?" the first one protested. "I know what happened to HQ, but it's not like we can't rebuild.."

"Wake up, Miles," the second man replied. "Do you see anyone else around here? Everyone's gone. It's just you, me, and a couple of guards that I'm paying out of my own pocket. That's it."

"So, what are you planning to do?" Miles asked.

"I'm torching this place," Sadat replied. "After I make sure we've taken anything of value, that is."

Miles glanced about the laboratory, looking nervous. "...Why are you waking everyone up?"

"Because," Sadat replied, "in a few days, this place is going to be worth less than dirt. _These_ , on the other hand, are about to skyrocket in value," he added, holding up a steel cylinder filled with a viscous, silvery liquid.

"The preservatives?" Miles asked, puzzled. "How do you figure that?"

"There's a rumour that the president's still alive," Sadat replied. "And if that's the case, he's most likely in critical condition, which means he's going to need a lot of medical supplies. The _right_ medical supplies. The stuff you won't find in a regular hospital. You see what I'm saying?"

"I think so," Miles replied.

"Exactly. It's a seller's market out there," Sadat said. "And we're sitting on a gold mine."

Atlas lay back down, pretending to be unconscious as the two men returned to the chamber in which he and his fellow soldiers rested. He watched as the director, Sadat, bent down next to the pod opposite his own, terminating the cryopreservation sequence, before fitting another cylinder into the lower frame, draining the preservative liquid from the pod's injection system.

He watched with half-closed eyes as the director repeated the process, opening several of the pods and draining them of their preservatives while his assistant, Miles, collected the cylinders. The younger man came to a halt next to one of the pods, as one of Atlas's fellow soldiers came to. "What are we going to do about them?" he asked.

"We'll take them back to the city and drop them off there," Sadat replied.

"That's it?" Miles asked.

"Yes. Why?"

"But... these are dangerous men!" Miles objected. "We can't just release them back into the public."

Sadat glanced over his shoulder, watching as one of the soldiers stood up shakily from his pod, before stumbling under his own weight, his body shorn of all strength from nearly two decades of remaining dormant. He caught hold of the rim of his pod, struggling to raise himself to his knees, only to collapse to the floor again, too weak to move.

"Yes... terrifying," Sadat said, turning his attention back to the task at hand.

"Well," Miles said. "Why don't we just..?"

He made the silent motion of pressing a gun against his temple, and pulling the trigger. Sadat scoffed at the suggestion. "Because there's going to be an inquiry. And trust me, there's going to be hell to pay for anyone who's associated with Shinra. It's going to be a shitstorm, I can promise you that."

"But what does that-"

"We can't use weapons," Sadat cut him off. "You can thank Shinra's high-tech weapons division for that. They can trace every bullet fired from every gun registered in their database. But they can't prosecute us if there's no evidence."

Miles hesitated, looking as if he didn't quite trust his superior's reasoning. But in the end, he consented. "All right. What are you suggesting, then?"

"Like I said, we drop them off in one of the slums in Midgar, and nature will take care of the rest."

"How so?" Miles asked.

"You know the experiments they did on all these 'Apex' types," Sadat said. "Pretty much cut their life expectancy to nothing. I'd give them a few months to live, at best."

He walked over to Miles, thrusting an empty canister into his hands. "Now, are you going to help me or not?"

Having overheard all of this, Atlas thought he should do something; fight, or run away. But unconsciousness was claiming him once more, and he blacked out again before he could do anything further.

* * *

When he lapsed into wakefulness again, he was riding in the back of a truck, along with several other soldiers, most of whom appeared to be gravely ill. They had been given only the most rudimentary of clothing and blankets to ward off the freezing cold. Several of them were coughing severely, or throwing up on the floor. Then, there were others who showed no sign of life, but whose limp bodies simply shifted back and forth with the force of the turns as the truck careened along the treacherous road leading to Midgar.

He blacked out yet again, then woke up with a start as the truck came to a sudden halt. Two guards wrenched the double doors open, releasing their passengers into the slums of Midgar in the dead of winter, before taking off again at speed, leaving Atlas and the others to their fate. All around him, his fellow soldiers collapsed to the ground, convulsing, fading fast. The few who could still move staggered away from the spot where Atlas stood, in an effort to seek shelter from the bleak winter wind and ceaseless snowfall.

Forcing himself to move, Atlas walked towards the body of a fallen stranger, snatching up the dead man's coat and wrapping it around himself as he stumbled aimlessly through the cold streets.

Reaching one of the alleys where Midgar's displaced and homeless gathered, he leaned up against the wall, out of breath, before sinking to his knees. He remained in that inert state for what seemed an eternity, watching the world go by with dulled senses and dead eyes.

* * *

Days and weeks passed. Time no longer made much sense to him, most of it being spent in a mental fog as he moved from one part of the fallen metropolis to another, partaking in the unending, desperate search for food or shelter, as the needs of the day dictated.

One day, as he wandered through a narrow back street on his way to the outer edges of the slums, he came upon an old 'Wanted' poster from the Shinra era. It read:

**-WANTED-**

**TERRORIST GROUP AVALANCHE**

**CASH REWARD FOR VERIFIABLE INFORMATION  
REGARDING THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS**

In all, six photographs were displayed underneath, with names inscribed under the first two: 'Wallace, Barret' and 'Lockheart, Tifa'. Then came three others, two men and one woman, who remained unidentified. Atlas recognized none of them. The last one, however, he recognized without fail. He stared for a long moment into a face that was very nearly a mirror image of his own, only younger.

The tattered poster on the wall, yellowed with age, threatened to be peeled off the wall and snatched up by the wind. The next moment it was in his hand. He pocketed the slip of paper, walking on down the road as yet more memories came flooding back. No longer were they the half-remembered slivers of the past that he had dimly recalled, but the whole of his recollection, returning to him with perfect clarity.

Atlas Strife stalked through the trash-strewn alleys of Old Midgar, passing by the other vagrants huddled together by their makeshift fire pits as he had done so many times before, but this time with determination in his step. And in his mind a plan, a purpose.

A design.


	8. Lethe Waters

"The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague.  
Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?"

— _Edgar Allan Poe, 'The Premature Burial'_

 

**Chapter 8**

******'Lethe Waters'**

 

* * *

 

_Present Day – Kalm_

_Crossroads Inn, lounge_

 

"Yuffie, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Yuffie blinked. She'd been spacing out again, and hadn't realized she'd been staring blankly at her formerly deceased friend for some time now. Aerith giggled upon seeing her confused reaction as she snapped out of her trance. It wasn't the first time she had caught the young ninja looking at her in such an odd way. "Okay, bad choice of words," she said. "But, you look like there's something on your mind."

"Oh... no," Yuffie replied, waving her concerns away. "I guess I'm still just getting used to it. You being back, I mean."

"That makes two of us," Aerith said, casting a glance about the inn. "So much has changed these past few years."

"Yeah, no kidding," Yuffie replied.

For some reason, the young ninja remained ever so slightly wary in Aerith's presence, though she wasn't sure why. Perhaps it was simply the residual effect of her nightmares. It seemed as though some part of her was still expecting her friend to morph into the vengeful wraith that had haunted her dreams. It was ridiculous, she knew, but she still couldn't shake that lingering feeling of unease.

A few days had passed since Avalanche's visit to the lost city. Yuffie recalled the panic as they rushed to get Aerith, still too weak to walk on her own, back to the Highwind's infirmary. At her friends' insistence, she had remained confined to bed for the greater part of the journey back home, with everyone taking turns keeping an eye on her, treating her like a patient in critical care, as though they were afraid of losing her again should they take their eyes off her for too long.

It was only after they had determined through various tests that she was indeed in perfect health and that there was nothing untoward about her condition, along with repeated assurances on Aerith's part that she was fine, that they agreed to leave her by herself for a moment. Even so, they still insisted on looking in on her from time to time as she recovered and began to walk about on her own once more. Cloud, in particular, was to be seen spending a fair bit of time with the resurrected flower girl, as might have been expected. Yuffie remembered spotting him sitting by Aerith's bedside that first night on the Highwind. She'd watched the pair through the half-open door to the infirmary, wondering what they might be talking about. She decided not to intrude on their time together, however. No doubt the two of them had much to discuss, and a whole lot of catching up to do.

They others had, at various intervals, asked Aerith if she remembered anything about her time in the Lifestream, to which she replied that her memory was still unclear. Four years had lapsed between her death and the present day, and she recalled very little of the intervening period. What puzzled them the most was how it came to be that she was able to return to the world of the living at all. But, question her as they might, she had no good answers for them. Ultimately, they decided that there would be time to figure all of that out later. Right now, it was time for a celebration.

Back at the Crossroads inn, they decided to throw a feast in honour of Aerith's return, with Tifa and her staff serving up a sumptuous feast for everyone to enjoy. Much like their first night at the inn, they partied all through the night, spending the following day recuperating from their revelries. Afterwards, they had spent most of their time relaxing and reminiscing just as they had before their reunion had been interrupted by their excursion to the north.

The inherent strangeness of the situation wore off sooner than Yuffie had expected. It was surprising how quickly they had all gotten used to their dead friend being back with them, walking, talking, and behaving exactly the way they remembered. The last surviving Cetra was still the same, kind soul that she had known before, which made her own apprehension towards her seem even more absurd than she knew it to be.

Part of her discomfort stemmed from the way she still recalled the shock of seeing Aerith die right in front of her face. It had been a staggering blow, emotionally, for the impressionable sixteen year-old, who had come to regard her and Tifa as her older sisters, to watch, helpless, as her friend fell to the ground, blood flowing from her lifeless form. Not knowing how to react, she'd broken down, burying her face in Cloud's chest, crying her eyes out as he did his best to comfort her. Now, Aerith was back among the living, as if nothing ever happened. Surely, such a violation of nature's one absolute law could not be without consequences.

Still, she had to remind herself, this was not Avalanche's first time witnessing such a breach of the barrier separating the living from the dead. There was, of course, Sephiroth's 'resurrection' two years ago, though whether that counted as a genuine case of the dead coming back to life, or whether that had simply been a facsimile of the real Sephiroth, she didn't know. But they'd had other encounters with the dead, such as their battle with the vengeful spirits of the Gi tribe back in Cosmo Canyon, who, shackled as they were to the earthly realm by their unbridled hatred for their old enemies, remained trapped in a baleful half-existence between life and death. The old Shinra manor, too, had held its share of apparitions caught in limbo, unable to pass on into the afterlife. Then there was that time that Marlene had come rushing back to the old Seventh Heaven, swearing up and down that she had seen ghosts in the old slum church in sector 5. All of these things added up to her having to rethink her outlook on the finality of death, something that she found rather unpleasant to contemplate. Vincent had offered up one of his helpful aphorism to ease Yuffie's vexation regarding the matter. "'There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy'". She'd retorted that he needed to stop thinking in quotations. The former Turk merely shrugged and wandered off to wherever it was that he spent his time when he was away from the rest of the group.

Perhaps the most telling and frightening thought of all was knowing that Aerith herself was able to hear the voices of the dead speaking to her whenever she was alone. Or so Yuffie remembered hearing her say at some point. She wasn't sure if she wanted to believe it. Whether it was true or not, the flower girl from the slums remained remarkably well-balanced, considering everything that she had been through, keeping calm and collected no matter the circumstances. Yuffie had always wondered how she was able to bear her burdens with such grace, a far cry from her own way of dealing with the world. She was fairly certain that if she could hear the voices of the dead whispering to her in the middle of the night, she would long since have been driven insane.

"Anyway," Aerith said, interrupting her thoughts, "Tifa and I were thinking of heading down to the market plaza to find some new clothes. You want to come?"

"Uh, sure.." Yuffie replied, still a little distracted.

Having returned to the world of the living without a single possession to her name, Aerith had borrowed some of Tifa's clothes for the first few days since her return. She still hadn't had the time to piece together a new wardrobe of her own, the past few days having gone by in such a rush. Yuffie wasn't sure whether to accept her invitation or not. After the events of the past few weeks, to say nothing of the months and years that had gone by, the thought of doing something as everyday, as _ordinary_ as going on a shopping trip with her friends, let alone with someone who, up until a few days ago, she'd thought of as being gone from her life forever, was enough to give her a mental whiplash.

She regarded Aerith with curiosity. It almost seemed as if time had stood still for her these past four years. For one, she didn't appear to have aged at all. Yuffie supposed that meant they were closer in terms of age than before, which was another strange thing to contemplate. Her friend, however, did not seem the slightest bit perturbed by any of this, preferring to turn her attention to more earthly matters.

"We should get you something, too," Aerith suggested. "Maybe a nice dress?" she added as she ushered the young ninja out into the lobby where Tifa was waiting for them.

Yuffie rolled her eyes. Her friends were well aware of her aversion to 'girly' clothing. She'd always hated the way it encumbered her and reined in her range of movement. Growing up in the boiling hot climate of Wutai didn't help matters much, either. But that didn't stop Tifa and Aerith from trying to convince her to change her ways. She'd found herself having to turn them down time and again, the same way she resisted the kimonos and regal garb that her father tried to impose upon her in an attempt to get her to wear something more 'lady-like'.

"Aerith, you know I don't do dresses."

"Oh, come on," Aerith said, grinning and prodding her in the side. "It'd be fun to try something different, right?"

"She's right," Tifa chimed in, coming down the stairs. "I'll bet you'd look stunning in a slip dress. How about trying something on with us?"

"We promise it won't hurt," Aerith said.

It was funny, Yuffie thought, how quickly people slipped back into their old ways. Aerith and Tifa had been reunited for less than a week, and they were already tag-teaming her on matters of disagreement, just like old times. She wasn't about to cave in from peer pressure quite so easily, however. "Thanks, but no thanks," she replied. "I wouldn't mind browsing the weapons store, though."

Tifa shrugged. "Suit yourself."

"By the way, Tifa," Aerith said as the three of them walked out the door, "thanks for letting me borrow these."

"It's the least I could do," Tifa replied. "Are you sure you're up for a walk?"

Aerith nodded. "Don't worry, I feel fine. But thanks for asking."

She paused for a moment as they passed through the front garden of the Crossroads Inn, taking in the full view of their new home in the early afternoon light. "It's quite the place you've got here."

"Yeah, it's a lot nicer than the Seventh Heaven, that's for sure," Yuffie said.

"Are you planning on staying here in Kalm?" Aerith asked.

Tifa nodded. "It feels more like home than Midgar did. To tell you the truth, I've thought about opening up a dojo somewhere nearby, maybe try to pass on my skills. But running the inn keeps me pretty busy."

"I'll bet," Aerith said. "If there's anything I can do to repay you.."

"Don't be silly, Aerith," Tifa said. "I'd never charge my friends for staying here. But... now that you mention it, I _could_ use some help around the inn. I've been meaning to tend to the garden here, and, well.."

"I'd love to," Aerith replied, beaming.

"Great," Tifa replied, smiling. "It's settled, then."

They walked on for a while, with Aerith taking in the sights of the small town, as if seeing them for the first time, exploring the world around her with an almost child-like curiosity. After a while, she turned to Yuffie, who she noticed had been unusually quiet as of late. "By the way... I couldn't help but notice that you and Cloudwere acting awfully friendly this morning," she said. "Something I should know?" she added, nudging Yuffie's shoulder and flashing her a sly wink.

"Oh, we're... together," Yuffie said.

"Together?" Aerith asked.

"As in, a couple," Tifa explained.

"...I see," Aerith replied, her mirth subsiding. "I didn't realize."

For a moment, she seemed almost pensive, though Yuffie couldn't quite read the expression on her face. "Something wrong?" she asked.

"No, I'm... just a little surprised, that's all," Aerith said. "You two didn't exactly seem to get along the last time I saw you."

True enough, she and Cloud were always locking horns, or had been, the whole time Aerith had known them. It wasn't until after her death that the two of them had started to grow closer. All of that now seemed to her like an eternity ago, but to Aerith, she realized, might as well have been yesterday. "Like you said," she replied, shrugging, "a lot has changed."

"No doubt," Aerith said, smiling and linking arms with her as they entered the market square. "Tell me all about it."

 

* * *

 

_2 years prior_

_Edge – High-rise building, penthouse suite_

 

Sadat's mind reeled as he struck the glass, shattering the aquarium as he went clean through it, before crashing down to the other side of the room in a shower of broken glass and grimy water. He coughed up more blood, a burning sensation pulsating in his veins as he crawled across the floor, brushing aside the wet grains and suffocating goldfish. Shaking off his disorientation, he turned his head to the exit, where his bodyguards, two of Junon's elite private security forces, lay dead, struck down before anyone knew what had happened.

He forced himself back to his feet, aiming to run for cover, but his aggressor was already on him.He had taken less than one step whenthe thin blade sliced across his lower leg, slitting the tendon above his right heel, forcing him down to the ground again. He fumbled for his sidearm, dropped on the floor in a moment of sheer panic, but he was too slow. The muzzle flash lit the dim apartment for a split-second as a bullet tore through the back of his hand, rendering it useless.Sadat yelped in pain, rolling over on his back as he clutched his injured hand to his chest.

His assailant approached slowly, broken glass crunching under heavy boots as he towered over the scientist. "Going somewhere, 'Mr. Director'?"

Sadat turned away, shielding his face. "Who are you?"

"Take a good look," Atlas replied, stepping out of the shadows.

Sadat lowered his trembling hands, hazarding a look at the man standing over him. In his terror and confusion, he had only caught a glimpse of the man's face as he and his cohorts forced their way into his apartment. Looking closer, he recognized him as one of the soldiers that he and his assistant had discharged from his lab two years ago. His sharp features were more prominent, now that he had reined in his shock of grey hair with a simple tail. His face was marred with age lines and scars, a particularly nasty one cutting vertically across his right eye, covered by a medical eye patch. His outfit, worn underneath a grey trench coat, suggested a military origin, though it lacked any distinctive markings. He held a thin, curved blade in his left hand and a large-calibre revolver in his right, covering both long and short range with traditional weaponry, in addition to whatever materia he might be carrying. The combination allowed him the fullest control of his surroundings at a variety of ranges, something Sadat recognized as the modus operandi of SOLDIER. In addition, he was flanked by a small group of soldiers clad in similar garb, old Shinra uniforms repurposed and stripped of any insignia. They, too, shared his pallor of complexion, but, haggard though they all looked, they were a far cry from the pitiable wretches he had left for dead in the slums of Midgar.

"You... But you were.."

"Dead?" Atlas replied. "Almost. I'm afraid nature did not oblige."

"How did you find me?" Sadat asked.

"I had a little conversation with your assistant," Atlas said, putting his weapons away. "He was most helpful."

"Miles?" Sadat replied. "What did you do to him?"

Atlas regarded the scientist with a cold smile. He knelt down next to Sadat, leaning in close. "What do you think?"

Sadat flinched in fear at his callous reply. Atlas ignored his reaction, producing an empty cylinder from his trench coat, holding it up for him to examine. "Look familiar, doctor?"

Sadat didn't respond right away, but the look in his eyes told Atlas that he did. "The preservatives you stole," he said. "I know you remember."

"The preservatives? W-what about them?"

"I need more of these," Atlas said. "And you're going to tell me where to find them."

"I... I turned most of them over to Shinra," Sadat stammered. "They didn't give me any choice. I didn't even get paid for those."

"And the rest?" Atlas replied, pocketing the cylinder once more. "I presume you kept a few for yourself."

Sadat swallowed hard. "I sold them. On the black market."

Atlas leaned in closer still. "To whom?"

"I... I can't tell you that," Sadat said, turning away again. "They'll kill me."

Growing impatient, Atlas caught the man's jaw in an iron grip, forcing him to look him in the eye. "You'll be thanking them," he said, "if you keep me waiting."

"Please... don't.."

Atlas sighed, backing off, regarding the pathetic figure before him with derision. "Your assistant, Miles... the kid had spirit, I'll give him that. He didn't break easily."

He reached down, picking up a shard of broken glass from the floor. "But," he continued, "everyone has their limit."

He held the shard up to the light for a moment, before pressing it up against Sadat's face.

"Shall we find out where yours lies?"

 

**Author's Note:**

> Another story of mine that I'm re-posting here. This one is still very much a work in progress, mind you, and admittedly it gets off to a somewhat slow start. The idea was to alter certain characters' relationship dynamics while working within the confines of the canon, as opposed to simply throwing everyone into a wholly unfamiliar scenario, where they would likely devolve into barely recognizable caricatures of themselves. After that, the second, more action-oriented half of the story takes off. In other words, this is something of an experiment, in addition to being a work in progress.
> 
> I shouldn't neglect to mention that the story, in its original form on ff.net, was posted as a number of micro-chapters when time wouldn't allow me to piece them together as a whole. The only major change I've made here is to edit these pieces together into slightly more coherent full chapters. I mention this with the caveat that I may slip back into these aforementioned old ways as the story progresses. There are three more chapters on the way, along with the upcoming, soon-to-be-finished fifth one, which I will post here and on the other side at the same time.
> 
> Error correction, constructive criticism and general enthusiasm all very much appreciated and encouraged. Cheers, and thanks for reading.


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